


blind love

by mitsurigi



Category: Dangan, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Angst and Drama, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blind Character, Blindness, Disability, Disabled Character, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Physical Disability, Psychological Drama, Psychological Trauma, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:54:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27475336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitsurigi/pseuds/mitsurigi
Summary: Hinata Hajime is a young and promising chemistry teacher. He tries to lead a normal life, despite being plagued by misfortune. Well, at least he considers himself so until he meets an incredibly unlucky boy. Nagito Komaeda has lost his vision due to a serious car accident, although he doesn’t give up so easily and eventually gets to work as a laboratory technician with an irritable but caring teacher.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Komaeda Nagito, Hinata Hajime & Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Hinata Hajime/Nanami Chiaki, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Mioda Ibuki/Tsumiki Mikan, Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya
Comments: 33
Kudos: 176





	1. Eyesore. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> well... I keep coming up with some weird ideas, but I hope you will like this story!

Sea was his very first conscious memory from the early childhood. It wasn’t even some visual experience, but mostly tactile. Hot sand. Cool water. The savory wind in his hair. It was so relaxing to sit on the beach and feel the warm tide washing over his bare feet.

He is four and somebody pats him on the head. He looks up but cannot see the face clearly. He turns around, trying to find anybody else, but the coast is empty. Bright sunset reflects on the water surface. He blinks, and there is somebody standing knee-deep in the sea. The stranger waves his hand and his body starts moving on its own. He went into the water, sinking deeper with each step. One. Two. Three. Salty water is getting into his eyes and nose. It’s hard to breathe. Air bubbles are coming out of his mouth when he tries to scream.

“ _Hajime?_ ” a sudden voice interrupted his drowning.

He moves chaotically in the water but can’t see anybody.

“ _Hajime._ ” The voice seems to come somewhere from above.

“Hajime! Wake up!”

Hinata jumped in his chair and hurriedly glanced around.

There was a short blonde girl standing beside him, hands in her pockets, face expressionless as usual. “Mornin’, sleepyhead”, she said in a lazy voice, looking down at him. Hajime blinked.

“Chiaki?” he stared back at her, a small frown on his face. “How did you get inside? I remember I locked the door.”

The girl pulled a key ring out of her pocket and jiggled it silently. “Mom told me to go check on you, so here I am.”

Confused, Hajime glanced at his wristwatch. “You could’ve dropped by in the evening. It’s barely seven now.”

“Do you know about such thing as a personal life?” Chiaki suppressed a yawn.

“I do, but you seem to ignore my personal life!” Hajime snapped, absolutely confused. “You can’t just break into a guy’s house like that! What if you saw anything you shouldn’t have?”

Chiaki tilted her head, giving him a meaningful look. “As if you really have something for me to see,” she stated with a shrug. “I’m meeting a friend after college, and mom asked me to talk to you this very day ‘cause she needs your answer.”

“Look, I’ll pay the rent next week, okay?” Hajime stood up and came up to the cupboard, rummaging through its drawers in search of his wallet. “I promise I’ll get the money, but not now.”

He turned around, but there was no sign of Chiaki in the living room. Instead, he heard some noises from the kitchen, and headed there. “You need to clean up this mess,” she pointed at a bunch of plates in the kitchen sink and kicked an empty water bottle towards the trashcan. “That won’ do.”

“Okay?.. I’ll clean up as well. Is it the deal?”

“Mom has fixed your rent problem,” she turned to him and gave him a strange smile. Hajime choked on his words.

“What did you say?” he gave her a blank stare. “I mean… I’ve got a three months debt. How can it be fixed?”

Chiaki opened the fridge and took a critical look at the contents. Hajime knew that there was hardly anything, probably some semi-finished products he bought about a month ago.

“Well, I guess I’ve prepared you enough,” the girl put her hands in the pockets and headed to the far end of the corridor, stopping by the door Hajime has never ever opened while living here. She opened it with her keys and went inside, throwing herself to the bed. “You’re getting a roommate.”

“What?” Hajime stared at her dumbfounded. “I am getting _who_?”

Well, he couldn’t deny that the landlady told him about the possibility of getting a neighbor. However, it was a long time ago, when he had just moved in here, and so he hoped that her words were just some formality. Hajime wasn’t the ideal tenant but he was honestly doing his best. Although, him not paying the rent was probably the last straw.

Chiaki nodded as to confirm his helpless thoughts. “Don’t worry,” she closed her eyes. “He’s a nice guy, so I don’t think there will be any problem.”

“It’s _him_?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really remember his name. Also, that guy paid off your rent debt, so you won’t have to worry about it as well. You see, just more of a good thing.”

Hajime remained silent for a couple of moments, trying hard to process the whole deal in his head. He attempted to look at it from every angle but it didn’t add up anyway.

“So, I owe _him_ money, right?” he asked finally and Chiaki’s answer shocked him even more.

“Nope, you don’t,” she got up from the bed and walked out of the room. “Mom said he wanted to compensate you for the potential inconvenience.”

“Okay? But when is he planning to move in?”

“ _Today_.”

“What?”

“Don’t be so dumb, Hajime,” the girl rolled her eyes. “That’s why I came to you this early. He wants to move in tonight. Do you agree with that?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really, I guess,” Chiaki picked up her back from the floor and sling it over the shoulder, not paying attention to Hinata’s bewilderment. “So, you’d better be ready. It might even do you some good, by the way. You don’t really have much friends, right? That’s your chance, I guess,” she gave him a smile and pulled the door open. “Well, I’ll be going then! Have fun!”

“I will,” Hajime answered mirthlessly as the door closed behind Chiaki’s back. For a couple of moment he remained silent, choosing the best option on how to express his mixed feelings.

“Shit!”

And that was it.

* * *

Hajime Hinata spent almost half an hour trying to put up with the current situation, balancing between the state of wild panic and extreme fury. On the one hand, one of his problems kinda resolved itself. He didn’t have to think of how to make money to cover the rent debt and not to die of hunger. It was… good? Maybe. But then again, some other problems surfaced, and they weren’t the easy ones. And the main concern was that mysterious roommate, whose motivation was completely beyond Hinata’s understanding. Even if that guy would be more or less sane (which Hinata doubted highly) and they’d find some way of coexisting without talking to each other, the outlook was still dismal.

Hinata didn’t want to share his personal space with anyone else. Chiaki was right about his limited social circle, but he was doing it on purpose. Loud people. Noisy parties. Idle conversations. Hajime hated it. That was why he deliberately isolated himself from these annoying kinds of social interaction. It wasn’t his thing. Being rather a sour person he was, that was for the good of all the people around him. Chiaki was almost the only person he could stick around without getting annoyed. The two remaining people were his longtime friend Makoto and his colleague Ibuki. Even though they weren’t that ideal but at least they understood Hinata’s urge to have some space.

Chiaki Nanami… She was quite chill and liked videogames. Hajime met her when he moved in as she was the landlady’s daughter and often ran some errands for her. Nanami was nineteen but their age gap didn’t really get in the way as they hit it off pretty quickly. Sometimes she would come over for no reason, bringing pizza and they would play games together.

He had quite a good life until that morning.

But that morning Hajime felt like his more or less peaceful life was coming to an end.

“I can’t believe it”, he mumbled while tamping the litter down into the trash can vigorously. Once he finally took his frustration out, Hajime sighed and glanced at his wristwatch. It was just about the time to leave for work, so he quickly packed the bag and changed into a white short-sleeved shirt and dark trousers. He gazed at his own reflection in the mirror with a blank stare, while straightening a dark-green tie. His hair was quite messed up, sticking out in every direction and showing the scar on his forehead right under the hairline. He frowned and pulled a lock of his hair to hide it. After that, he nodded to himself, grabbed his jacket and left the flat, turning the lights off.

The school he worked in wasn’t that far from his house, but Hinata still preferred going there by car. It was the only piece of comfort left in his life, even though he was beginning to think of selling it in order to cover the rent. He sighed again, getting into the driving seat. Probably he really would have to sell it for real to pay that moron back. He felt like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

“Who the hell asked him?” Hinata growled, starting the engine. There was a strange sound first, and then the wheels began to spin on the ground until the car stalled. Hajime frowned and tried again. And again. And… “What the shit? For real? Right now?”

Hinata was internally screaming in agony, but externally he took another deep breath and dropped his head onto the steering wheel. The silence of the parking lot filled with a continuous sound of a depressed car horn.

* * *

Public transport was another thing Hinata hated with all his heart. After the failure with the car breaking down, he had to run to the nearest bus stop, nearly losing his shit. Red in the face, covered in sweat, he stormed into the bus and almost immediately bumped into someone’s back. Mumbling annoyed apologies, he squeezed through the crowd to the window and leaned against it, sighing heavily. To his utter annoyance, the bus didn’t miss a single stop and those 10 minutes he spent there seemed like eternity to him.

When Hajime finally got off, he checked the time on his wristwatch and cursed under his breath. Of course, he was running late for his own class. It wouldn’t have been be a problem, if that wasn’t the sixth time in a month. This was bad, and he was already reprimanded. So, he flew off in a rush, grateful for not skipping the gym classes back in his university days. Hinata burst into the school gates at full speed, pulling his badge on the move, and then came running into the entrance door, startling a doorman with a furious salutation.

Having reached the teacher’s lounge, Hinata stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He came up to the door and listened carefully if anyone was there. Apparently, all the colleagues had already gone for their classes, so he could come in freely. Hajime quickly grabbed a class register and headed to the classroom, trying to make himself more or less presentable after his savage marathon. He expected to hear some kind of intense noise from his classroom already outside in the corridor, and that was why he got a little bit nervous about the unusual silence.

Hinata was ready for the worst when he finally reached his class. The students were not going all crazy in there like they usually did in the teacher’s absence. He could hear an unfamiliar voice instead. It seemed as if some person tried to calm the children down. Hajime listened closely, deciding not to give himself away.

“Guys, please, be quiet or else we’re all gonna have problems! Don’t put your teachers’ neck on fire,” It was rather a strange voice, a little husky but yet young. “He’ll be here in a couple of minutes. Please don’t make things difficult for me; it’s my first day, after all…”

He was interrupted by a high-pitched girlish voice, “Mr. Hinata is always late, so we all know it’s not a few minute matter.”

“Last time he showed up like fifteen minutes before the bell and gave us a huge-ass test right away!” another boy spoke up.

“B-be careful what to say!” that person tried to say it in a stern voice but it sounded more like a helpless plea. “You’re at school!”

That was the very moment Hinata decided to take control over the situation before anything else could happen. He swung the door open and stepped into the classroom, glancing around with a deep frown. Quiet murmur died at once and all the eyes fixed on him.

“E-exuse me?” Hinata turned his head to the sound and his frown became even deeper. In the middle of the room stood a tall and slim guy in a white lab coat and his long messy hair was almost the same color with it. He was staring at the floor, hands fidgeting with the thin fabric. “Are you Mr. Hinata?”

Hajime nodded shortly. “Hajime Hinata, a chemistry teacher. And you must be my new laboratory technician?”

“Yes, you’re right. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hinata”, the guy put his arms around himself and looked away. “Y-you can call me Nagito, sir”.

He sighed, walking up to the teacher’s desk and putting his bag on it with a soft thud. “Introduce yourself properly, may you? So that me and the students will know how to address you.”

“Roger that!” Nagito smiled, brushing off Hajime’s irritated voice. “My name is Nagito Komaeda, I’m twenty four. Graduated from Hope’s Peak Academy, the Chemistry Department. Umm… I was born-“

“Enough!” Hinata raised his hand in a stopping gesture, a bit dazed by that sudden outburst. Blonde guy paused, a nervous smile still on his lips. “Thank you, it was quite… sufficient. We will have a proper talk after classes, Mr. Komaeda. That’ll be all, you may go and do the job in the lab.” Nagito was chewing on his lower lip, still standing at the same spot. “I got you, sir! But I’m also your assistant, so my job is to help you with handing the books out and other stuff,” he turned to Hinata, not looking at him directly. “I’ll be right behind this door, so feel free to call me whenever you need, sir!”

“Thanks?..” Confused, Hajime watched him disappearing into the back room, closing the door gently. After that, he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the students, which were observing that strange scene between two of them with utter amusement. He could already hear muffled giggling. Hinata frowned. “Good morning, class! Haven’t you been taught some manners?”

The students went silent and stood up obediently, greeting the teacher with sour faces. During the five years spent working, Hinata got used to that already. In general, he wasn’t that good at dealing with children, even though in some of the classes he was rather in good terms with the most of the students. That class was among the difficult ones, but Hajime managed to control them somehow. Now with that new laboratory technician… Hinata had a premonition that Komaeda would give him a hard time.

Well… His hunch was painfully right. The first five minutes were all right, and then Hajime plunged into the depths of despair.


	2. Eyesore. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters are pretty big, so I cut them in half!

“So, the complex polysaccharides in reaction with the carbon dioxide produces an unusual combination of texture and effervescence. Let’s have a look at the chemical equation of this process,” Hinata put the book down at his desk, turned to the whiteboard and habitually reached his hand out to grab a marker but there weren’t any on his radar. He rummaged through all the desk drawers and still hadn’t found a thing.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Hinata?” asked one of the boys.

“Are you looking for anything?” added another girl.

“Can I help, sir?” Komaeda peeked through the door. Hajime turned to him, resisting the urge to swear. Nagito continued, as if unconscious of his articulate facial expression. “Are you looking for the markers? I put them into the shelf when I was cleaning up. Don’t worry, I’ll get them right away!”

Followed by a heavy stare, blonde hurriedly came up to the cabinet near the window and kneeled, pulling a small box out of the lower shelf. “Mr. Hinata, here you go!” Komaeda straightened, turning to the teacher and offering him the box. Hajime sighed and grabbed it, putting at the desk. “Thanks,” he took one of the markers, turned to the whiteboard, and then saw Komaeda out of the corner of his eye. That guy hadn’t moved an inch. “You can be free.”

Nagito lowered his head, smiling nervously. “Thank you, sir,” he came up to the back room’s door and stopped, holding to the doorknob. “Umm… I’m here if you need me.” Hinata rolled his eyes, preferring to ignore that line.

When the bell rang, Hajime sighed and sat at the desk, resting his head on the hand. He closed his eyes, waiting for the noisy students to leave the room. However, he didn’t get more than a few seconds of peace and quiet before a tall figure in the lab coat appeared in front of him once his eyes opened. Hajime looked up to his face, discovering the same peaceful expression with his gaze lowered to the table. For a second Hinata thought to himself how messy that guy’s hair was. As if he combed it without looking at the mirror. If he ever combed it.

“What’s it, Mr. Komaeda?” He asked then, sounding not really interested. Nagito gave him a vague smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I was wondering if you want me to erase the board?” Hinata shrugged, arms out. “Sure, whatever.” He reached to his bag, pulling out a pile of printout, putting it on the desk.

“Got it, sir!” Komaeda gave him another wide smile, before retreating to the whiteboard (way too enthusiastic). At this point Hinata turned his entire attention to the papers, looking through them in order to find the necessary ones. For a moment, there was a silence with him gently flipping through the tests and Komaeda shuffling quietly by the whiteboard. Suddenly, Nagito spoke. “Don’t hold back, Mr. Hinata!” Hajime almost choked but managed to restrain himself, waiting for the continuation. “I’ll do everything in my power to ease your work.”

He resisted the urge to sigh. How many times would he say it? How many had he already said? It was beginning to annoy Hinata. He was doing well by himself. Nevertheless, he decided not to ruin their working relations from the very beginning. “Thanks for your eagerness”, he said, noticing a stream of new students coming into the classroom. Komaeda made a strange sound, resembling something between a chuckle and a muffled moan. Hinata decided to ignore it.

The rest of the classes went in the same spirit of Komaeda constantly harassing Hinata’s personal space in many different ways and Hajime gradually reaching his boiling point.

When there came the time of the last lesson, Hinata finally was determined to get his revenge.

“Komaeda, hand out the workbooks, will you?” He decided to fulfill Nagito’s desire to be used to the fullest extent. The blonde rushed out of the back room, literally sparkling. “I won’t be long, so please continue with your lecture!” He began rummaging through the bookshelf, taking a tall stack of books. Then he turned around and headed towards the desks, his free hand slightly reaching out. Hajime and the students watched him silently. That was when he first noticed that something was off about this guy.

It looked like some strange ritual. First, Komaeda touched the edge of each desk and then he would put there strictly two books, even if there was just a single person sitting at. Having done so with the two lines of the desks, he headed to the last one, and at that very moment there was a tremendous thump. Suddenly, Nagito fell down, letting the rest of the books fly to all directions. Hajime turned from the board and for a second managed to notice a boy from the last desk quickly pulling his leg from the passing before the classroom burst out laughing.

“Silence!” Hajime slammed his hand against the table, and the classroom fell silent. For a second nobody dared to move. Hinata slightly panicked but he had scarcely made a few steps towards lying Komaeda, when he rose to his knees, his expression blank.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for this mess!” He started to collect the books hurriedly, a nervous smile on his lips. “My bad, sorry. I’m always so clumsy, sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Hajime looked away, feeling somehow embarrassed. “Just finish please.” Something was definitely wrong with that guy. Hinata sat down, pretending to be looking for some incredibly important piece of paper. Not that he really wanted to fill his head with other people’s problems. Not again. When Komaeda came up to his table and put the book in front of him, Hinata just nodded shortly, not looking up. He only saw how Komaeda’s pale hand was slightly trembling.

“Umm, I’ll be in the lab room if any,” he mumbled, holding himself by the shoulders. “Don’t want to be a bother.”

Hinata hadn’t heard from Komaeda until the very end of the class. Probably he was embarrassed as well. When the last students left the classroom, Hajime sat at the desk for a couple of minutes, waiting for something he didn’t even know. At the floor, he noticed a book Komaeda didn’t pick up earlier and went to get it himself. It was a strange day. Strange and tiring. And it was not about to end there as he had to sort out the unclear situation with his roommate. He frowned at that thought. How many more surprises would he get? Overall, Hinata had further problems other than his new weird assistant, so he decided not to give it much thought. They were both grown up people, after all. Everyone should mind their own business.

Finally, there was a long-awaited silence in the room, but he didn’t feel relieved at that point. Now that he remembered about the issue with that renter moving in in the nearest future, Hinata wanted to prepare his flat and clean up, and it’d take him long as he hated cleaning up. Too many new people appeared in his life. Well, only two so far, but for Hajime it was more than enough. He put the book back into the shelf. There was a mess in the classroom the students left behind. The books were still laying on the desks; some wrappers were thrown here and there.

“Shit”, Hinata sighed. “And where is he when there is actually a need in him?”

He decided to leave the cleaning to that Komaeda guy, since he was so eager to help out. Hajime knew they should have a proper talk but he didn’t really want to do it. He gathered his belongings, trying to buy some time, but was finished in less than five minutes. Upon realizing that he couldn’t avoid the inevitable, Hinata sling the bag over his shoulder and opened the door to the back room vigorously.

“What the hell?” Confused, Hinata was staring into the darkness. Could that guy leave without being noticed?

“Mister Hinata?” A familiar voice from the darkness came on, making Hajime flinch.

“For fuck’s sake, Komaeda!” He quickly found the light switch with his hand and in a second lights went on, displaying Nagito just sitting on a stool at the far end of the room. He raised his head at Hinata’s shriek, looking confused as well.

“What’s wrong, mister Hinata?” He asked in a mild voice. Hajime blinked, standing there speechless.

“Excuse me? Can’t you _see_ what is wrong?” Hajime started to lose his temper. “You’re stuck here, just doing nothing in the dark as shit room and you are asking me what’s wrong?”

There was a moment of silence. Then Komaeda chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, I get it now”, he said.

“Well, I don’t!” Hinata interrupted, but Nagito raised his hand and pointed at his face.

“Actually, _I can’t see_ ,” he said. Hajime blinked.

“Meaning?”

“I’m blind,” Komaeda gave him a smile, and the chills ran down Hinata’s spine. He was told about getting a new assistant. What he wasn’t told about was the fact that he was blind.

“You’re… kidding me, right?” He could feel cold sweat appearing on his forehead. Komaeda gently shook his head in reply. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Do you even realize that you literally made a fool of me?”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do anything of that sort!” Komaeda stood up and made a few steps towards Hinata. “I swear! I was happy that you treat me just like any other regular person, cause…”

“But you aren’t a regular person! It’s not right! It’s absurd!”

A small frown flashed on Nagito’s face. “Do you mean that I’m not good enough to work with you?”

“No! What I was trying to say is that… Well, isn’t this job a bit hard for you?” Hinata stroke his hair, struggling to find words. “I mean, it’s hard to assist anybody if you can’t see, right?”

“Not at all! You know, I am a spacial thinker, so it’s quite easy for me to get around once I look around the area.” Hajime frowned at his last words. A man in his position should refrain from using such phrases.

“And… If you mean that accident with me falling down… I don’t really know. I felt like I stumbled upon something that wasn’t quite there…. But! I promise it won’t happen again!” Komaeda took a few more steps towards him, clapping his hands in prayer. “Mister Hinata, give me some time and I will show you!”

“Snow me what?” Hajime edged out in a reflex.

“I will show you that I can be useful. Now that you know about my blindness, it should be easier for us to cooperate! Please?”

“Fine?” Hinata sighed at the wide smile Komaeda gave him in reply. “But I’m still confused. At least, do the others know? Headmaster? Principle”

“Of course they do!” Nagito nodded vigorously.

“And how come I didn’t?” Hinata hadn’t chilled out yet, and a menacing aura was spreading from him. As if feeling it, Nagito embraced himself, lowering his head.

“Well… Mister Hinata, promise you won’t get mad at me.”

“No promises.”

“I asked not to tell you,” Nagito was chewing on his lower lip. There was a moment of silence, when Hinata was counting to ten, but Komaeda broke down almost immediately. “Wait! I-I just wanted you to treat me like a regular person, that’s all… I’m sorry, mister Hinata! Please forgive me!”

Suddenly, Komaeda dropped to his knees, bowing really low.

“Okay, enough!” Hajime rushed over to him, getting the blonde up by the armpits. “I forgive you, but don’t mess with me anymore.”

“Thank you, mister Hinata!” Nagito caught Hinata’s hands in his own. “You’re such a nice man!”

“Okay, enough of this…,” Hajime got his arms out and took a few steps back. “Suppose, I should apologize as well,” he paused, pulling himself together. “Accept my apologies for the earlier. I shouldn’t have been acted like I did.”

“Mister Hinata, you don’t need to be sorry!” Komaeda smiled softly. “It all was my fault. But I’m so glad we cleared things up. I feel relieved.”

Hajime nodded and then almost immediately slapped himself in his thoughts. He should avoid any non-verbal signals in their further conversations. “Actually, I was going to leave,” he looked over his shoulder. “Are you planning on staying here or what?”

Komaeda shook his head, a nice smile on his thin lips. “Don’t worry, you can go and I will stay to clean the up a little. I will lock the classroom and pass the keys as well.”

“Are you sure you can do it?” Hinata gave him a dubious glance. “I mean, maybe it’d be better to call the janitor?”

“Thank you for caring, sir! But I’ll handle it myself. I also wanted to examine the classroom more closely.”

“Alright,” Hinata shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. “I’ll be going then. See you tomorrow.”

“Have a nice day, mister Hinata!”

He couldn’t help rolling his eyes. At that point, he was glad that Komaeda didn’t see it.

* * *

Hajime spent all the evening trying to prepare for the roommate’s arrival. It was already eight and he was beginning to think that no one was going to come when the doorbell rang.

“Shit,” he got up from the sofa, feeling rather anxious and walked up to the door.

Hinata looked through the peephole but saw only the landlady on the staircase. Well… If she was alone, it was rather good news. So, Hajime opened the door. “Good evening, miss Nanami. I was just thinking about calling you.”

Chiaki didn’t look like her mother, who was a rather big woman with a fine crop of dark hair. At first, Hinata was really surprised they were actual relatives. “Oh, Hinata, it would’ve been no use calling me,” the landlady sighed. “I lost my phone. Anyway, did Chiaki told you the news?”

“Of course, she did,” Hajime was starting to panic."It was about a roommate, right?"

Miss Nanami gave him a smile. “Well, that’s great! Meet your new tenant then,” she stepped aside and Hinata froze at the spot.

“ _Komaeda_?” was all he could say. His eyes weren’t wrong. There he was, that weird assistant, but instead of a white lab coat he was wearing a dark-green zipper coat with the same loose shirt and jeans. In addition, he was holding a cane in his left hand and a small bag in his right hand.

Komaeda smiled nervously, his head down. “ _Mister Hinata_?” he replied in a trembling voice. “What a surprise, isn't it?.."


	3. getting along?

From the far end of the couch, Hajime stared at the blonde guy sitting in his chair, hand on knees, face full of silent panic. His cane was leaned against the armrest, and his bag left in the hall. Since the landlady left, they’d been sitting like that for at least half an hour. The air in the room was thick with invisible tension.

“Mister Hinata?” Komaeda gave up first and spoke cautiously, breaking the silence.

“Shut up.”

Hinata didn’t really know how to feel about the situation. On the one hand, he didn’t need to meet another unfamiliar person. That was quite good because the less people were in his life, the better for both sides. Probably, having _him_ as a roommate wouldn’t be that bad.

“But I want to talk, mister Hinata…”

“I don’t.”

But from the other hand, that guy was just insufferable. It was as if Hinata’s worst nightmare was coming true. Komaeda at work. Komaeda at home. No more safety. No more personal space. Based on their interactions at school, Hajime felt legitimate concern.

“Mister Hinata, I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

Finally, Hajime snapped, “Quit calling me that! I’m not that old.”

“How would you like me to call you then?” Komaeda tilted his head, watching him with a blind stare. At that point, Hinata unwillingly noticed that his light eyes were a bit slanted.

“Hajime,” he sighed, looking away. “Since we’re almost the same age, I suppose.”

“Oh, you remembered!” the blonde smiled. “By the way, what’s your age?”

“Does it matter?” Hajime huffed, putting his chin on his hands, elbows leaning on the coffee table. Komaeda remained silent, waiting for the answer patiently. Hajime gave up. “I’m twenty six. Happy?”

“That’s great! We’re just two years apart!” Komaeda replied cheerfully, ignoring his annoyance. “Now you can finally call me Nagito!”

“Shut up, Nagito.”

Hajime took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Somehow, just being in the same room with that guy was embarrassing. He had quite a _strange_ aura. Even when he didn’t talk, didn’t move, literally didn’t do a thing, the single fact of his presence pressured the shit out of Hinata. Probably it had been a little bit too long for him living alone. Anyway, he hadn’t really had a chance to share a house with somebody else since he was about sixteen. Living by himself was pretty good at least, considering no one tried to push him around anymore, interfering with his personal space.

And there was another reason.

“C-can you show me around the place, mis... Hajime?”

He didn’t want to take care about anyone anymore. He was sick and tired from dealing with other people’s problems.

“I c-could do it myself, if you don’t have time for it. It’s fine, you just tell…”

Hinata was staring at the floor, grinding his teeth.

“But… I thought it would be quicker if you helped me out.”

He frowned with annoyance, looking up at Komaeda. He was sitting in the same posture, a confused expression on his pale face. Hinata stood up.

“Komaeda”, he roared, making the guy flinch. “Why have you done it?”

Nagito smiled nervously, “Sorry, but I d-don’t quite understand…”

“Why did you pay my rent debt?” Hinata slammed the table with his both hands, getting up from his seat. “Don’t play dumb with me, I don’t fucking believe you. Before you answer that, let me get one thing straight. I do not owe you nothing. Moreover, I will not babysit you just because you did something I didn’t even ask for. And I definitely won’t babysit you because of your medical reasons, if that’s what you’re implying. Am I clear?”

There was a moment of silence in the room. Nagito blinked and lowered his head, looking absolutely baffled. He took a few deep breaths before he started talking.

“I’m s-sorry I made you feel that way, but… I wouldn’t even dream of it, r-really,” he said in a quivering voice and paused. Hinata looked down at him, frowning deeply. “The reason I paid the debt was that I simply wanted to make up for m-my presence in here. I would never want anybody to owe me anything, because… because…”

Suddenly his voice cracked, making Hajime swallow hard. “B-because I know, I’m a burden! I’m such a nuisance… But I swear I won’t bother you! I j-just want to be useful, but it’s hard for me… S-so, if you give me just a little chance… I’ll…” Nagito didn’t finish the sentence, he covered his face with his hands and fell silent instead. 

Hajime felt his own face flushing severely, staring at wilted Komaeda. He couldn’t tell if Nagito had such perfect acting abilities or if he really was that crazy. Anyway, he waited patiently for him to say something more or less reasonable in reply. Still, something inside of Hajime was telling him that he didn’t pretend his reaction. Probably, it was all those years of emotional manipulation experience. Whether it was a provocation or not, he decided to stick with the pressing.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Hinata moved towards him. “I’ll wait.”

Komaeda slowly took his hands off his face, placing them on his knees. He was chewing on his lower lip, expression completely blank. Hinata felt that sudden change with his skin.

“Hajime”, he said in a strange voice. “I don’t know what you’re thinking of me, but all I did it for a good reason. My intentions were nothing but to make up for my proximity. I don’t have much to spend money on since I’m blind. Also, as you may have noticed, as a blind man, I have certain… difficulties in my everyday life. I’m not forcing you to “babysit” me, but sometimes I need a little help. So, accept it as my apology.”

“Finally, you’re honest,” Hinata crossed his hands on the chest and paused for a second before saying, “Can I ask you one more question?”

Komaeda shrugged, “Don’t hold back, Hajime.”

“Where did you get the money?”

Hinata was fully aware of how rude it was to ask about such things. He had never been a polite person though. It was not always intentional but this time he said so on purpose. However, making Nagito uncomfortable wasn’t exactly his aim, he simply wanted to solve all the moot points at once. Anyhow, his words seemed to have quite the opposite effect on Komaeda, changing him back to the previous cheerful mood. He gave Hinata a soft smile.

“Oh, that’s an easy one! Honestly, I thought you’d ask something a little different… Anyways!.. My relatives died in a car crash, and I got all the family property as the only surviving member. Some of my dad’s friends helped me to sell our house and I ended up getting too much money on my hands. Also, before you ask, I didn’t want to live there and decided to move somewhere far from that place. That is it… I don’t really have much history.”

Hajime blinked, trying hard to think of some reaction to this story. Komaeda blurted it out way too easy, it seemed almost unreal. Seriously, who on earth would spill the beans with such ease?

“Are you joking?”

Komaeda shook his head gently, still not looking up. It felt strange not to have a single eye contact during the talk, as if they were both speaking to another people.

“Sorry for your loss then,” Hajime lowered his voice, suppressing his internal screaming. His throat went all dry and itchy. “And… Were you sighted before the accident?”

Komaeda nodded affirmatively.

“Sorry,” it was obvious that their conversation took a left turn, but Hajime wasn’t good at helping such weird situations. “Komaeda, no offence, ‘kay? Didn’t mean to bring up your sore point.”

It was Nagito who decided to change the subject first.

“Don’t be so sad about me, Hajime! You shouldn’t feel bad for the trash like me,” he got up, finding the cane with his hand. “Actually, I’d be so glad if you just showed me around. Is it okay?”

Hinata sighed at his words.

“Now that we’ve cleared things up, I think we’re settled,” he answered with a small shrug. “All right, let’s make it quick.”

“Yes, let’s make it quick! I’m ready,” somehow hearing this from Komaeda felt a bit strange. Apparently, Hajime had yet to get used to Komaeda’s odd way of speaking. And to his questionable personality as well.

“First, we’re I the living room. Second door on the left from the entrance,” he rubbed the bridge of his nose, considering what else to say. He didn’t get a chance to give a sightseeing tour to a blind man before. Some things were still the same in his life, since he was gaining experience he hadn’t even dreamed of. “There is an armchair. A couch. TV set. Okay?”

Komaeda smiled at him anxiously, nodding. “Y-yeah, I get it. But, like … where all these things are?” he paused for a second and bit his lip before continue, “Can I, y-you know… touch them? Don’t get me wrong, I j-just have the tactile memory for things and use it to build up a picture of the surroundings. Is it… Is it okay?”

“Sure,” at that very moment Hinata realized they weren’t going _make it quick_. “The chair is right behind you. Couch’s in on the left. Go ahead. Wait! Don’t trip over, there’s also a coffee table!”

Nagito stopped right one step away from bumping into that piece of furniture, and now stood there perfectly still, obviously feeling a bit out of place. It even occurred to Hajime that he might even felt uncomfortable to be watched at while doing it. Well, they had only two options, and however Hajime wanted to choose the first one and just leave, he sighed heavily and walked up to Komaeda, grabbing his wrist.

“For fuck’s sake”, he muttered, feeling Nagito flinch at such turn of events.

“Mister Hinata?” he asked cautiously, not daring to move a finger. Hinata noticed how he tensed up but preferred to act decisively in order to get this over with as soon as possible.

“Here,” he pulled Komaeda down, placing his palm on the dark wood. “Guess, it’ll be better if we act together.”

Nagito swallowed hard, lost for words for the first time that day. “Thank you, mister… Um, Hajime.”

Hinata waited patiently while the blonde was examining the coffee table. It was rather a fascinating sight, and he caught himself staring at it involuntarily. Komaeda leaned over a little, running his hands over the wooden surface, palpating its edges with slightly trembling fingers. Curly strands of his rather long hair covered his face, and Hinata thought absentmindedly, how long was it since he last got a haircut. Hajime was used to do it himself, not wanting anybody to see the _marks_ on his head. Due to this, his hairstyle was all pointy and prickly, but he didn’t really mind. He wasn’t going to grow it back anyways, as well as to be _beautiful_.

Meanwhile, Komaeda had finished with the table and managed to the same with the couch and chair. “Umm… I think I’m done here,” he called warily, bringing Hajime back to reality. He took a few steps forward, groping his way with the cane. “Where should I go next, mist… Hajime?”

Hinata glance at him, pursing his lips. At that rate, they were doomed to do it until late. He walked up to Komaeda, removing the cane from him and taking his hand instead. Nagito twitched again, exhaling sharply.

“Let me hold it for now,” Hajime explained, slightly pulling him forward. He couldn’t believe he was actually saying stuff like that. “I’ll lead you through the flat, ‘kay? I will be quicker for both of us. Ready?” he glanced at Komaeda, who nodded vigorously, trying really hard to answer with his voice. Hinata took his muffled gasp as a yes. “Let’s go then.”

At that point, things went a bit faster since Komaeda didn’t resist at all, following Hajime around obediently. They stopped by not that numerous furnishing and Hajime waited a few minutes before they moved forward. Nagito seemingly tried to do his thing faster and didn’t even speak too much, asking only some questions about the room interior. Hinata calmly answered in monosyllables, though his mind was not entirely there. He wondered what he should do with his car. Looking at Komaeda somehow was inducing thoughts about broken things.

Probably he would just ask Ibuki to call their mutual acquaintance who was a pretty good car mechanic. He had saved Hinata’s car once before, when no other car services could do a thing. Hinata didn’t remember his name but gave him a vote of confidence. Moreover, he didn’t charge much money, which honestly was the main thing. 

Having decided so, Hajime nodded to himself and returned his attention to Komaeda, who was quietly feeling the windowsill in the kitchen. By that time they had already went through the living room, bathroom and hallway, and were half finished with the kitchen, which was the most furnished room in the flat.

“Mister Hinata, how are we going to share the cooking?” Komaeda asked, while examining the kitchen counters. And now it was Hinata’s turn to tense up. He didn’t even correct Nagito about the use of his name, dismal thoughts coursing through his mind. If Komaeda was blind, he couldn’t cook. Hajime wasn’t blind but he couldn’t cook as well. It seemed that both of them were doomed to feed on instant noodles, but Hajime didn’t know how exactly to put this gruesome news. As if feeling his puzzlement, Komaeda continued, “Don’t worry, I can cook!”

It was only by a hard struggle Hajime didn’t echo back in surprise. He managed to keep it together and simply said, “Okay then, you cook for yourself. I cook for myself.”

“Alright! I’m glad you trust me to use the kitchen,” Komaeda answered still in his cheerful manner, and Hajime got pierced by sudden realization. He didn’t really want Nagito to blow them up, especially in the flat Hajime was somewhat responsible of.

“When did you learn to cook, Komaeda?” he asked menacingly.

“When I was twelve, I guess…” Nagito mumbled, fidgeting with the fork Hajime left on the counter. “I used to cook a lot for my family and friends, so I was really good at it. And… After the accident, I tried to do it like before but now I’m not that good… I m-mean I know how to use the stove and the oven, but I can only cook very basic meals, s-so don’t worry about that. I promise I won’t b-burn anything down.”

“Well, I’ll take your word for now,” Hajime shrugged, still having slight misgivings about it. “If you knew how to do it before, then I hope there won’t be a big problem now.”

“You’re so kind to me… I’m so sorry to bother you,” Komaeda put the fork down, lowering his head. However, the next second he cheered up again. “Oh, I know! How about we share the chores? I’m a pretty good cleaner!”

Hajime sighed, internally asking himself how much many questions Nagito had in his curly-ass head. “I’m not letting you out for groceries or taking the trash out,” he answered instead. “It’s out of question. Let’s just say you can do the washing up or dusting from time to time. Guess, I’d better take care of the rest myself. There’s not much to do anyway.”

“And, umm… W-what about the laundry?..” Komaeda started chewing on his lower lip, embracing himself by the shoulders. “I’ve got a bit of a problem here, I’m afraid…”

“In what way? I suppose you cannot use the washing machine, right?” Nagito nodded affirmatively, and Hinata frowned. “How did you wash your clothes then?”

“With my hands?..” His answer sounded as if Komaeda himself wasn’t sure about it. “To be honest, I’ve had troubles with washers ever since I could actually see them. I even got electrocuted once…”

“For fuck’s sake, Komaeda…” Hinata put his hand over the face, taking a second before speaking. “Look I’ll take care of that, ‘kay? All you have to do is just put your stuff into the laundry basket and then I’ll do the rest. No acting on your own. Agreed?”

Nagito lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “R-really, mister Hinata?”

“ _Hajime._ ”

“R-right, Ha-hajime…” Komaeda’s concern was almost visible. “You mean _all_ kinds of clothes?”

“Yes, I do.” Hinata knew what he was implying but didn’t really want to say this out loud. “You got something against? I’m not going to dig through your dirty laundry, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, I’d never think you are capable of such thing!..” Komaeda covered his mouth with a trembling hand and muttered, “Sorry! That was not what I meant… It’s just… It’s so nice of you to do this for me…”

Hajime rubbed his forehead, “Settled, then. By the way, are you finished in here?.. Let’s go to your room, finally.” He grabbed Komaeda’s hand and pulled him out of the kitchen, intending to finish his duty and get some rest.

“Hajime”, Komaeda called him from behind. “Umm… Where is your room?”

Hinata jerked his head at the voice and almost immediately regretted his decision. His foot had already stumbled upon something solid and he lost his balance. Events of the whole evening flashed in his head. During the fall, he remembered clearly that he left the _fucking_ broom against the wall, thinking he would put it away later. All his effort of regaining his balance were futile and he ended up falling flat on his back with Komaeda landing on him from above just a second later with a muffled shriek.

There was a moment of silence. Hajime was lying sprawled across the floor, seeing spots, buried under Komaeda’s body. He hit his head hard enough to start wondering if he really had blacked out for a moment. What he knew for sure that it would be a complete miracle if he woke up the next morning without a headache. Hajime blinked a few more times and glanced at the body on top of him. All of a sudden, Komaeda turned out to be quite heavy for such skinny-ass physique. However, Hajime could literally feel sharp bones even through the clothes on both of them. He heard something about how heavy the bones might be. Probably, it was Nagito’s case.

“Are you okay, mister Hinata?” Komaeda said cautiously, trying to lift on his arms. Hajime could feel Nagito’s heart beating like crazy. “I’m so sorry, so sorry, so sorry, so-“

“ _Hajime_ ”, he grunted, spitting Nagito’s hair out of the mouth. _Damn, that guy really needs a haircut_. “My name is Ha-ji-me.”

“Sorry, Hajime,” Komaeda finally stood up to his knees, hovering over Hinata. “Hajime… A-are y-you okay, Hajime?”

Hinata was about to say something but then realized that he saw Komaeda’s face that close for the first time. It was a strange sight. Skin white as a sheet and in contrast chapped reddish lips, and the eyes… Light green, almost transparent with long blonde eyelashes. These eyes as if were looking through Hinata and that felt rather confusing. That look in his eyes reminded him of something from long ago.

“Hajime? Please, answer! I’m getting worried…”

Instead of answering, Hinata pushed him on the chest, feeling almost all of his ribs. “Get up already”, he said. “Careful. I won’t live through the second time.”

“Alright”, Nagito rose to his feet and reached his hand out. “H-here, take my h-hand.”

Hinata rolled his eyes but accepted the hand just to be kind. He didn’t let it go once he got up and instead of that pulled Komaeda after himself. “My room is right against yours”, he said. “Don’t go in there unless it’s something important.”

“I won’t, I swear.”

Hinata let them inside and led Komaeda to the bed. “So, here you are. You can look around, and I’ll go get your stuff”.

Hajime closed the door behind him and sighed heavily. Finally, this terrible day seemed to be more or less over. However, for some reason he was convinced that his suffering wouldn’t end with it. It would’ve been too easy, and life had never gone easy on him. A single fact of Komaeda’s existence was enough to prove it.

After some minutes of rest and silence, Hajime picked Nagito’s cane he dropped not so long ago and went to the entrance door to pick Nagito’s bag up. It wasn’t heavy at all, as if there were just a few shirts with a couple of books. Driven by a slight curiosity, Hinata opened it and took a brief look inside. He turned out to be right, as there were some clothing shoved in, pressed by a few books at the top. With a shrug, Hinata zipped the bag and headed back to Komaeda’s room.

When he opened the door, Nagito was just sitting on the bed where Hinata left him. He decided to ignore it.

“Hey”, Hajime put his belongings beside him. “Your things.”

“Thank you, Hajime!” Komaeda turned his head to the voice. “You’re such a nice person, Hajime…”

“Probably,” he shrugged. “Well, do you have any other questions?”

Komaeda shook his head, “No, thanks to you it’s okay! Think, I can take it from here…”

“All right, as you wish,” Hinata shrugged and headed to the exit, stopping at the doors. “I’ll go get some sleep, in that case.”

“Goodnight, Hajime!” Nagito gave him a warm smile, and somehow it made Hinata's heart sink.

For some reason he felt the chills run up his back. “Yeah, night.”


	4. first morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime tries his best to put up with his new neighbour, and Nagito just being himself.

That night Hajime dreamt about sea again. Such dreams almost always ended up as nightmares, when high tide just swallowed him whole, without leaving any chance to swim up to the top and take one last breath. Sometimes he felt as if he was going to suffocate under the thick water and never wake up anymore. At first, Hajime was afraid of drowning, yet he didn’t have any similar experience in his whole life. Somehow, the idea of sinking just got stuck in his head and wasn’t going to leave any time soon. Whenever he saw that empty shore, his heart skipped a beat because it was inevitably followed by a real physical sensation of being held under the water with no possibility of moving his own body.

He felt rough fingers digging into his neck, keeping him down in water depths.

He tried to scream, not really knowing who to ask for help.

He was choking on the water, air bubbles coming out of his mouth and flying to the surface.

He was drowning.

Hinata woke up in a cold sweat, not quite feeling his body. A muffled moan escaped his lips as soon as he realized that it happened once again. Unable to move. Unable to speak. Numb and helpless, Hinata was lying on his back, trying to soothe the racing heartbeat while counting to ten. Sleep paralysis was a common occurrence in his life, so he was rather used to that kind of thing. However, it was still an unpleasant experience. Sometimes he could even see various shadows walking around the bed, hovering over his face, clenching their invisible claws on his neck. Apparently, this time he was lucky enough not to hallucinate.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Rhythmically and measured, just like the waves wash a hot sandy shore. And just as high and low tides, vague headache was pulsing at the back of the head, not letting him get back to sleep. Hinata attempted to untie that hot and muddled tangle of his feverish thoughts, but it wasn’t easy at all. Breath in, breath out. His lungs seemed to be full of saltwater, and he wanted to cough it all out. It was so strange to feel like that, as if he had to live over the same memory again and again. Even though his memory wasn’t in a very good condition, he was pretty sure nothing like that ever happened to him.

It started a long time ago, so it could be one of those _irrational fears_ his mother had planted at his brain. No use thinking about it. No use thinking about it. No use thinking about it. No use thinking about it. He’d never get the right answer, so why would he even care?

Hinata didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally managed to move his right hand. A couple of minutes, more probably. Although, it felt like hours. He sat on the bed, kicking thin blanket to the side. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was an early morning. Well, at least he slept more than usual. Hinata ran his hand through wet hair and winced. He had to wash off all that sweat along with sticky memories of the nightmare.

It was very quiet, so Hajime somehow totally forgot about the another person in the flat. He remembered the whole previous evening only when he saw a slightly opened door of the other room.

“Right,” he mumbled to himself, rubbing the back of his head. “Komaeda.”

It seemed that the blonde was still asleep in there but Hinata didn’t fall into temptation and gently pulled the door closed instead of peeking through it. Just in case. He didn’t want to accidentally see anything inappropriate. _What if Komaeda normally slept naked? No way._ Hinata quickly brushed that thought off, shaking his head vigorously. He didn’t want to know. Never.

Hajime sighed, closing the bathroom door and hanging his towel up. Last night he even managed to change into his sleeping clothes, if an old stretched-ass shirt could be considered one. Most of the time, he either collapsed on the bed undressed, or didn’t sleep at all. Work usually kept him up at night, as he had to prepare for the lessons, check all of the homework and do much more of that kind of trash. He was rather pedantic about it and also insomniac. But last night he got so tired after almost a whole day full of Komaeda, he just went to sleep.

Cold shower helped him to clear his head and wake up completely. However, some dull pain was still pulsing inside of his skull. Well, that was to be expected after a yesterday’s crash. That was the thing Hajime absolutely hated about himself. As a rule, it took only a slight bump on his head for the migraine to pop up. Doctors ambiguously called it “ _consequences_ ”, but Hajime called it bullshit. He just hoped that he’d make it to the weekends and then just rest it off. Just two more days.

Hajime walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. As soon as the door swung open, he detected some strange smell in the corridor. At a minimum, it wasn’t the burning smell. It wasn’t a good one anyway. He followed that scent to the kitchen and froze in a doorway, observing the offered view with a blank stare. The blonde was shuffling around the stove with a spatula in his right hand, pale and disheveled as ever. Fully dressed, contrary to Hinata’s vague doubts.

“Good morning, Hajime!” Nagito turned around so abruptly, that it caught Hinata a bit off guard. “Did you sleep well?”

“Morning,” he crossed hands on his chest, tilting his head to the side. “It’s hardly six o’clock. How long you've been up, man?”

Nagito put a finger to his lips, seemingly trying to calculate the time. Before answering, he turned back to the stove and shut the gas off. “Hour and a half, I guess?” he wrapped the left hand in his loose white shirt and took a frying pan by its handle, while finding a plate with the other. “I couldn’t sleep, so decided to clean up a little.”

Indeed, the kitchen seemed cleaner than usual. Probably it was because all those coffee stains and sticky spots disappeared from the counters and the table. _How did he find them anyway? Did he have to touch all that stuff?_ Hajime remained silent, waiting for the blonde to continue. Meanwhile, Nagito successfully put some light-yellow substance on the plate and leaned over, carrying it to the table. “I, umm… really wanted to cook you something better,” he took himself by the shoulders, lowering his head. “B-but I couldn’t find anything but a few eggs… S-so, that’s… an omelette?”

Hajime frowned. “You mean, for me?”

“I g-guess?..” Nagito was chewing on his lower lip. “Wanted to do something… nice? I’m s-sorry for taking your foodstuffs without y-your permission, b-but there wasn’t much to do with eggs, so…”

Hajime took a deep breath. He was experiencing quite mixed feelings. “Komaeda, I thought I told you that we both cook for ourselves and ourselves only,” he leaned on the doorway, watching the blonde slowly shrink in size. “Not you cooking for _me_. Not me cooking for _you_. Ever. Did you get it now?”

Komaeda’s grip of his own shoulders tightened so hard that he was basically digging nails in his skin. “O-of course. But what should we do with the omelette n-now?”

Hajime didn’t even blink. “You will eat it.”

“I w-won’t,” Nagito shook his head vigorously. “It’s for y-you. I didn’t mean anything bad, s-so please don’t me m-mad.”

He was only making things harder. Hinata sighed, rubbing his right temple. Somehow, all the pain shifted to that side. He didn’t really want to argue because of the headache, but he also didn’t want to give in to that guy. Even his own mother didn’t cook for him normally. And if she did, it usually didn’t mean anything good. _What did he want?_ Hinata was struggling to find the answer, and in the meantime, Nagito looked more and more distressed. With a heavy sigh, Hajime walked up to the counters.

“Because you cooked it, you will eat it,” he stated firmly. And before Nagito had a chance to protest, he continued, taking another plate from a drawer and putting it on the table with a thud. “I will eat it too, but only in appreciation of your efforts. Got it?”

Nagito lighted up in an instant. “Really?.. Thank y-you, Hajime! I knew that you’d…” he pondered. “W-wait… Are we going to share it?”

“Of course we are,” Hajime halved the meal with a fork, putting some on both plates. “Don’t ask such obvious things, Komaeda. Here, sit down and eat.”

Hajime waited for the blonde to sit down and then moved the plate towards him, sticking a fork in it. For some time, he stared at Nagito who wasn’t moving at all. “Come on,” Hinata rushed him a little. “Go ahead. I’ll get something to drink and join you.”

“Really-really?”

“For fuck’s sake, Komaeda…” Hinata rolled his eyes, while rummaging through the counters. “Who taught you that?”

Nagito took the fork and started fidgeting with it. “Mother,” he answered suddenly, making Hinata freeze in confusion. Not even knowing what to say, he decided to ignore it, but Komaeda continued. “She used to say that a lot… One time, my dog got hit by a car and I was really sad about it. It’s like… He kind of was my best friend. I cried so hard I could hardly breathe… And my mom, she explained that he was in the… better world, and he’d be upset to see me like that from the... _heavens_. I believed it, and then she made me promise not to cry anymore. I promised, and she then asked “really-really?” and I felt better for some reason… “

He went quiet, and Hinata could hear a single clanging sound of the fork falling to the floor. He turned around slowly to see the blonde sitting at the table, face buried in his hands. Mornings never were the best part of the day. He sighed, getting up with a can in his hand, and closed the drawer. What was he supposed to do? It was very confusing, since he didn’t have any similar experience.

“How old were you?” Hinata crossed hands on the chest, not daring to approach him. He wasn’t even sure he’d get the answer, but still gave it a try.

“Six,” Nagito sniffed, taking his hands off the face and drying his eyes with the backs of his hands. “S-sorry about that… Looks like I’ve got some extra seasoning now.”

Hajime felt the chills run up his back, but was secretly relieved he didn’t have to comfort him. “Yeah… Let’s just forget this,” he noticed Nagito slightly motioned to get the fallen fork and quickly picked it up himself, throwing it to the sink. “I’ll get you another one.”

“Thanks,” somehow his voice became dull. “Sorry, I’m really sorry. Something just have gotten into me.”

Hinata grabbed the fork with two muddy glasses and then unloaded it all on the table. “I don’t have any tea or shit like that,” he said, opening the can up with a soft squirt. “So, what’ll it be? Gatorade or tap water?”

“Umm… I’ll be fine with the first option,” Nagito shrugged, not looking very enthusiastic. Hinata quickly poured them drinks and kicked the empty can to the trash, finally sitting down at the table.

The omelette Nagito cooked actually looked fine. Even though it was a bit burned at the bottom, Hajime himself could never do better. Cautiously, he tasted a small piece, chewing slowly before swallowing. Not bad. Despite being squeamish to the food made by anybody but himself, that omelette wasn’t exactly stirring that feeling up. Except for…

“It’s not _omelette_ , Komaeda,” he said, taking a sip from his glass. Probably even that amount of gatorade was going to worsen his migraine but he didn’t really care after so many years of living with it. As if headache became a part of his body, so it was easier to ignore.

Nagito slightly cowered at the comment. “W-what’s it then?”

“It’s called scrambled eggs,” Hajime shrugged, casually taking another bite while the blonde didn’t even touch his meal.

“R-really? But w-what’s the difference?” Nagito rubbed the back of his neck, disarranging his already messy hair. “Sorry, I always mix them up.”

Hajime wasn’t sure why they were having this conversation in the first place, but decided to keep it going. It’d been quite a long time since he last got the chance to talk to somebody like that. Not that he complained about it, though.

“Technically, you have to add some milk in omelette. If not, it’s scrambled eggs.”

“O-oh, I see…” Nagito hanged his head in shame, and Hinata almost chocked on the food at his last words. “I thought the milk thing goes by another name…”

“What name?” Hajime hit himself on the chest, coughing it up.

Nagito once again embraced himself by the shoulders, mumbling almost under his breath. “Cheese… Cheesecake…”

It took Hajime all of his self-control not to verbalize the answer he had in mind. He just sipped from his glass, taking his time before replying. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

“Thanks, Hajime…” Nagito groped his glass, wrapping his fingers around it. “B-by the way, did you like it? Be honest.”

Hajime shrugged. “Yeah, it’s fine,” he paused for a second, looking up at the blonde. “And for the record. If you wanna do anything for me, you gotta ask _me_ first. Deal?”

“Alright!” Nagito gave him a happy smile, looking absolutely satisfied with Hinata’s response. After that, he finally began eating. At some point, Hajime caught himself staring thoughtlessly at that process for some reason. Probably, because he was intrigued how Komaeda managed to put the fork in his mouth and not anywhere else. Actually, the blonde did quite well for a completely blind person. His movements were slightly slowed down, but accurate enough for his condition. It was rather a relaxing sight and…

Hajime shook his head, forcing himself to stop. That was not right. He quickly finished his breakfast and stood up, putting the dirty plate in the sink. “By the way, Komaeda?” he started, leaning on the counter. The blonde raised his head to the voice and sat still, waiting for the continuation. “How did you notice me come in?”

“That’s easy, Hajime!” Nagito tilted his head to the side, chuckling softly. “I heard you, that’s it. My hearing improved a lot over the time. You walk really quiet, though. Guess, I’ll need some time before I fully adjust to it.”

Hinata raised an eyebrow. “Why would you ever need to adjust?”

“It is possible to distinguish people by their footsteps, and that’s very useful because…” Nagito pondered, biting his lower lip. “Because I want to know who’s around me, at least this way.”

“It makes sense,” Hajime nodded. Before leaving the kitchen, he glanced at the blonde once more. “I’m going to get ready for work, then. How do you plan to get to the school, though? It’s too far to walk all the way up there,” suddenly, he frowned. “How did you even get there yesterday, huh?”

“I, umm…” Nagito run his hand through the hair in confusion. “A-actually, I don't navigate the area freely so far… And y-yesterday one of my acquaintance gave me a r-ride. After work I tried to walk the town by myself but it wasn’t that easy… I, um, found a bus stop somewhere near, so I g-guess I’ll go to work by bus.”

“You know, I doubt you at that point,” Hajime sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He knew something must go wrong. And there it was, in the very face of Nagito Komaeda. “Listen, we may go to work together, since we have to pull together. Somehow. In any other case, I’d let you do whatever the hell you want, but we’re stuck with each other and I don’t want you to end up getting lost in the ass-end of nowhere and cause even more trouble. So? What do you think?”

As much as Hinata hated saying such things, he thought that it would be the best option in their situation. Moreover, he thought he made it clear enough for the blonde not to think anything wrong. Hajime just preferred to avoid potential problems if he could. There was nothing bad at it.

Nagito answered after a short pause, taking himself by the shoulders and lowering his head. “It’s s-so kind of you, Hajime… I’m so sorry to b-burden you, but I… I r-really need some assistance for a little while. Thank you, Hajime.”

“I’ll take it as a yes then,” Hajime shrugged. Seemed like he had no other choice rather than just to blank out Komaeda’s flow of talk. For the first time in his life, Hajime was glad he had similar experience back in the childhood, so it wasn’t that hard at the present time. He turned around to the blonde before finally leaving the room. “We have about an hour left, so do your stuff and get ready. I’ll call for you when it’s time.”

“Alright!” Nagito gave him a soft smile. “I’ll be waiting in my room then.”

Hinata decided to leave it without a response and headed to his bedroom to get dressed properly. He was quite persistent about it. One had only to look at the insides of his drawers to figure out his personality. A small number of white shirts, long sleeve for winter and short sleeve for the rest of the year. One and the only dark-green tie. A couple of black jeans, the ripped ones from more than five years ago. Three t-shirts with some discolored prints, including the one he usually slept in. Not much to go on but it was enough for him. He didn’t go out, and for the everyday life it was quite sufficient.

He spent some more time looking through the students’ papers he’d gathered the day before, correcting mistakes in red ink. It was kind of a calming activity, and Hinata definitely needed to cool down before making his decision. Of course, Hajime deliberately suggested them coming together in order to prevent Komaeda from causing trouble for both of them. Hajime knew that guy only for a day but was absolutely sure he couldn’t be left alone for a long. A logical conclusion that could be figured out easily.

What Hinata didn’t figure out was how he actually planned to get them to work. With his car probably totally broken down, there were only two options left. First one was to go by bus, just like Komaeda wanted originally. Generally speaking, it wasn’t a bad idea. For Hajime it appeared to be one of the worst ideas because he hated public transport with all of his heart. He hated all those people cramming into already crowded enough buses, jostling for space, stepping on the others’ feet, pushing their way with all those bags and backpacks… No comfort. No fresh air. No personal space. Hajime had enough of that the other day and definitely wasn’t going to try it again. 

That seemed to put him in a disadvantageous position. The second option was hidden in the depths of the hall, covered by seasonal outerwear, unused for almost four years ever since Hajime bought a car. It was an old bicycle with a bit rusty basket in the front and the carrier in the back. Hajime hoped he’d never have to ride it again but in the current situation it seemed much more comfortable than a bus. It might be even a perfect solution, without taking Komaeda into account. Two people _might_ ride this bike but Hajime didn’t feel good about it as well.

Technically, there was the third way, which implied simply walking all the way to the school. Probably it was the most harmless one. Except for the fact that they were already out of time to do so, and Hajime didn’t want to be late for several days in a row. So, this option was immediately marked as invalid.

Hajime sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair. He didn’t like neither of those options, therefore he had just to choose which one was less disgusting to him. It was hard to decide, since all kinds of physical interactions felt gross. It felt as if his nightmare was coming true and those cold fingers were once again clenching around his neck. Even the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

The bus was definitely out of question, then. Hajime went out into the hall and headed to the far corner, turning the lights on and uncovering the bike in question. Well, it looked like it could carry two grown-up men despite being considerably old. Hajime inspected the bicycle one more time before finally giving up to the thought that he would be more comfortable with Komaeda on the back rather than being elbowed by some strangers in the bus. Unfortunately, it was true. Moreover, it’d be much quicker, which was a major advantage and closing argument at the same time.

Meanwhile, it was almost the time for them to leave for work. Hinata looked into the kitchen, checking for Komaeda’s presence. He wasn’t in there, but apparently already managed to finish his breakfast and clean everything up. While the blonde were back in his room, Hinata decided to take the opportunity and quickly drive the bike out.

Fresh morning air felt as if it wasn’t the middle of autumn but rather the end of summer. Even though it was a bit windy, Hajime still preferred to walk outside without a jacket just because he was getting warm easily. So that, he pulled the bicycle in the street and examined the tires, squeezing them with his fingers. To his utter surprise, they didn’t blow after so much time had passed. Hajime got on the bike, trying to adjust himself again. He didn’t want them to fall down at the first second just because he forgot how to keep balance.

However, his didn’t lose his skill as he expected himself to. It felt a bit strange to ride that bike after all those years of driving a car. On the other hand, it was bringing back some memories Hajime didn’t even flinch at. Weird but pleasant. Lost in his own thoughts, Hajime rode a few circles round the parking lot before finally getting off. He stopped and took a lock out of a metal basket in order to attach it to the nearest pole. Just in case. Hinata didn’t know how long it would take them to go back outside, but hoped for the best.

Hajime returned to the flat, quickly gathered his things up and knocked few times at Nagito’s door, calling out to him before entering. “Komaeda?” He waited a second and turned to knob, slightly pulling the door open. “I’m coming in.”

There came a late response. “Hajime, come in!”

When Hinata entered the room, the blonde was standing with his back to the door, putting on his green coat. His cane was leaned against a wall on the left.

“Are you finished?” Hajime asked indifferently.

“Yes!” Nagito turned around hurriedly and went up to the door, finding the cane with his hand. “S-sorry I made you wait. I kind of… forgot where I left my coat yesterday. I had to check the whole room.”

Hinata shrugged, “At least, you found it,” he glanced at his wristwatch and then at the blonde again. “You ready? Let’s go then.”

“Alright!” Nagito walked out of the room and Hajime stepped aside, giving way. “Are we going to walk?”

“Not exactly,” Hajime rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ll ride.”

“Cool!”

As soon as they walked up to the doors, the blonde froze in place, and Hinata almost bumped into him. Before he could argue, Nagito slightly turned back, although he didn’t really need it. “Hajime, may I ask a question?”

Hinata frowned. “Well, try.”

“How should I call you at work? I’m a bit lost about it…” Komaeda lowered his voice and turned away. “May I call you mister Hinata? Or you’d rather me to call you Hajime? S-sorry that I’m asking about such things…”

“For fuck’s sake, Komaeda…” Hinata sighed, resisting the urge to slap himself on the face. “Let’s put it like that. You call me by surname only at work. Any other time you address me by name. Got it?”

“G-got it!” Nagito nodded, placing his hand on the doorknob. “Thank you for answering.”

They left the flat, and while Hinata was locking the door, the blonde went outside, waiting for him at the entrance. He was standing there still, both of his hands holding the cane and his gaze seemed to be focused on something beyond the world. Hinata slightly took him by the wrist, pulling in the right direction. “Come on,” he went forward, letting Komaeda follow him. “By the way, we’re going to ride a bicycle.”

“A b-bicycle?” Komaeda raised his voice in surprise, and judging by the sound nearly tripped over his own feet. “B-but how? There is only a place for one…”

“Why? You can sit at the back,” Hinata pondered, thinking about how to explain the whole thing. “There’s a special seat for small baggage.”

He wasn’t sure if this explanation was sufficient but Komaeda went silent for a few seconds.

“Umm, o-okay…” he replied shortly after. “I’ll be the baggage then.”

And then it was Hajime’s turn to trip over the air. He glanced over his shoulder at the blonde to see a nervous smile on Komaeda’s face. _How the hell did he even come up with it?_ He seemed to be full of surprises, and not in a good way. Hinata counted how many times he was already confused by that guy and the result was disappointing. At that rate, he and his headache wouldn’t live until the weekends.

“Here,” Hinata stopped by the bike, landing his hand on the handlebar. Nagito took a few more steps and as well stopped right in front of it, reaching his hand out to examine it. His fingers gradually ran through the crossbar, saddle and stopped on the carrier.

“Is that it? Umm, the thing you told me about?” Nagito touched it with his both hands, pressing the cane to his side with an elbow.

Hajime tilted his head to the side, noticing his concern. “It is. Have you ever ridden a bike before?”

“N-no, I haven’t even had one,” Nagito bit his lower lip. “It just s-so happened. S-somehow…”

“Well, we have no time to explain,” Hajime took the bicycle by the saddle and handlebar, steadying it up. “Sit on that first, I’ll hold the bike, just in case.”

Nagito hesitated. “C-can you please put my cane somewhere? I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to hold on with it…” He stretched his hand out, waiting for Hajime to take it. “It folds, s-so it shouldn’t take much place…”

“Just a second,” Hajime looked at the cane, examining the construction, and then cautiously bent it three times according to the notches. He put it into the basket and held the bike once again, while the blonde was waiting patiently. “Done. Now, get yourself on.”

“Okay…” Nagito pondered for a moment, seemingly gathering his strength, and then lifted his left leg over the back wheel, holding tight onto the saddle. He adjusted himself for a second before asking, “W-where do I put my feet on?”

Hajime stepped to the blonde, still holding the handlebar, and lifted Nagito’s right leg with the top of his shoe, placing it on a chain stay. “Here,” he waited for Komaeda to sit properly and then got on the bike himself. “You ready?”

“I think so…”

“Hold me from behind while we’re riding,” Hinata said, glancing over his shoulder. “Or we’re both gonna fall.”

“Hajime, but is t-this okay?” Nagito’s voice was full of a sudden concern. He paused, struggling to choose the words. “I mean with me… touching you and stuff like that.”

“What?” Hinata frowned, not sure how to respond to such question. He decided to be honest. “Of course I’m not. Don’t be dumb, Komaeda. I don’t really want to do it as well, but my car’s broken down, so just deal with it.”

“D-don’t get me wrong, I j-just don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Nagito reached his arms along Hinata’s sides and cautiously took him by the waist. “Umm… Like that? Is that okay?”

“No,” Hajime sighed and grabbed Nagito’s hands, placing them on his stomach instead. In reaction, Komaeda made a strange sound, obviously not expecting such turn of events. “Like that. Hold tight. And don’t you dare let go unless you don’t wanna crash down. In that case, I’ll go on without you,” Hajime glanced at the blonde once more to check if he was alright in his seat. “ _It’s a warning._ ”

Nagito tried to laugh but it sounded pretty pathetic. “N-nice joke, Hajime,” he pondered, slightly pulling away from Hinata’s back. “But… You know… Are you a good driver?”

Hajime bit his lip, feeling like being extremely close to his limit. “Komaeda, one more word and I’ll drop you down,” he then leaned to the side, slightly shaking the bicycle. He supposed it to be a sort of educational effect for the blonde. What he didn’t suppose was that Nagito suddenly screamed in terror and pressed himself all against Hajime so hard, that he almost knocked them over for real. By some miracle, he managed to keep balance and straighten them out.

“No! _I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!_ ” Nagito started mumbling some incoherent apologies even before Hajime could actually react. They were so close that Hinata felt with his back how fast Komaeda’s heart was beating deep inside of the chest. “Don’t drop me, I’ll bite my tongue from now…”

Hinata sat there absolutely dumbfounded for the umpteenth time that morning. Komaeda was squeezing him so hard, that he even had difficulty breathing. Hinata cautiously palmed Nagito’s clenched hands, feeling irritated and sorry at the same. “Fine, fine, no need to hold me _that tight_ ,” He waited for the blonde to calm down and get into the previous position. Of course, Hinata understood that it wasn’t a heathy reaction at all, but there simply wasn’t the time left for dealing with that. Moreover, he didn’t want to stick his nose into someone else’s problems anymore. He took a short breath and put his feet on the pedal. “Okay, let’s go.”

Contrary to Hajime’s expectations, Nagito kept to his word and didn’t say anything for the entire ride. It was a big relief but, then again, bugged him somehow. Probably because Hajime already got used to the blonde’s constant babbling and it was strange to see him go all silent in a moment. _Why the hell was he even worrying about things like that?_ Hinata frowned, trying to clear his head and think about his work instead.

Despite certain inconveniences, riding a bike turned out to be a pretty good idea. Hajime even enjoyed it a little, especially after remembering his previous bus experience. Fresh air helped to soothe his headache and put his thoughts in order. After some time, Komaeda relaxed too, only tightening his grip and pulling a bit closer when Hinata turned into the corners.

They managed to get to the school in less than fifteen minutes and there was even some time left before the start of the classes. Hajime drove into the parking lot and stopped near the bike stands. He waited a few seconds before realizing that the blonde wasn’t going to let him go.

“Komaeda,” Hajime glanced over the shoulder and almost hit his own forehead against Nagito’s. “ _Hands off_. We’re here.”

“Oh, s-sorry!” Nagito gave him a small smile, opening his arms a bit reluctantly. “I just got carried away a little.”

Hajime shrugged and got off the bike. “Get down,” he said. “I’m holding it.”

When they both were back on their feet, Hajime pulled a lock out of the basket and while he was attaching the bicycle, Nagito waited for him a few steps away.

“Hajime,” he called out softly. “You are a pretty good driver.”


	5. mixed feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime teaches basic computer literacy and fails to understand his own feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, so I hope you didn't forget about me! I also do hope that the beginning of the year was better for you, and if not, don't feel bad about it as there is much more to come. Anyways... Please enjoy!!

It wasn’t that long before Hajime once again realized that it was going be a hard day for him.

Once they got to the school, he turned to the blonde. “Komaeda, do you know the way to the classroom?”

“I do, mister Hinata,” Nagito nodded, vaguely gesturing with his cane. “It’s straight down the hall, then turn to the right, two flights of stairs and then again straight along the corridor, forth door on the right.”

Hajime blinked, “Are you a freaking GPS?.. Anyway, you go straight there and wait. I need to pick some things from the teacher’s lounge,” he pulled a set of keys out of the pocket, quickly found the right one and took Nagito by the wrist, pulling his arm. The blonde slightly flinched at his touch, and Hajime rushed to explain, putting the key into Komaeda’s open hand. “Open the door with this key, alright? Do _not_ lose it, got it?”

Komaeda squeezed the key in his narrow palm, hesitantly pulling his hand away in a weak effort to escape the tight grip. Hajime realized he was still grasping his wrist and hurriedly let him go, almost pushing the blonde back. For just a second, Hajime noticed red marks his fingers left on Nagito’s pale skin. None of them decided to comment on it. “What are you waiting for?” Hajime cleared his throat, glancing away at the floor. “ _Go_ , I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Alright, m-mister Hinata!” Komaeda answered way too eagerly and started to walk away hastily. “You can count on me, sir!”

Hajime watched him heading to the classroom, helping himself to find the right direction with his cane. When Nagito finally disappeared around the corner and vanished from the sight, he couldn’t help but sigh. _That guy_ … Strange situations seemed to start happening once again at the very moment Nagito appeared in _his_ life, and apparently, it wasn’t going to come to an end. It was only the beginning of something… _odd_? He never planned to be friends with anybody else because it was exhausting. Hajme shook his head and headed to the third floor, trying hard to ignore both the headache and weird feeling somewhere inside of his chest. It wasn’t characteristic of him to get all handsy and touch someone but in Komaeda’s case it was just impossible to avoid physical contact. Sudden thought of it made Hinata feel… _uneasy_. He didn’t want to know what was going to happen next, especially given the fact that only a day passed and he was already _that tired_ of humanity.

There wasn’t much people roaming the corridors, mostly there were barely awake high schoolers crowding around closed classrooms, waiting for their teachers to come. Hinata was secretly hoping not to meet any of his colleagues at the teacher’s lounge because he’d had enough of social interaction for the morning and there was a high risk to run into rudeness for the next person deciding to talk to him. That was why he avoided most of the conversations even with the people he considered friends. He just had his limits. That thing about him wasn’t going to change anytime soon and there was no particular need in it. Hinata stopped at the door and listened before placing his hand on the doorknob. On the other side of the door, a muffled humming could be heard. That meant, only one person could be inside of the room. It was a relief and unease at the same time.

“Go-o-od morning, Hinata!” he had barely opened the door when a sudden sound wave nearly knocked him down. He winced at the intense flash of pain in his head and bit his lower lip, hurrying to enter the room.

“So much of energy for the morning, Mioda,” he said, closing the door behing himself and putting his bag on one of the chairs. “Same to you. Guess, you’re doing fine since you have the power to produce such volume?”

 _Ibuki Mioda_ was one of those people Hajime considered friends and, in combination, the loudest person alive. He even asked himself for a second if she was as annoying as Komaeda. However, he shortly came to the conclusion that the blonde couldn’t be beaten here. Well… To each his own.

“Man, yesterday you ran away so quickly, I couldn’t even say bye!..” Ibuki complained, crossing her ams on the chest. She looked quite unusual for a teacher, with all of her piersings and dyed bangs. Although, at work she wore some normal clothes at least. “Actually, I thought you’d drop by after classes. I was going to show off my new synth I scrounged out of our bursar! It’s a shame you didn’t come, I had to have all the fun by myself. At least, Mikan joined me, but it wasn’t the same without you.”

Hajime shuffled through the class register books, pulling out the right one. Sometimes he couldn’t just understand why people kept saying such things about him. Even if he did come yesterday, he’d merely sit somewhere, speaking up when addressed to only. He never considered himself the funny type overall.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he shrugged. “I was planning on it but _something c_ ame up and I wasn’t really in the mood anymore. Moreover, I rushed back home to scrub the flat down because a new tenant was supposed to move in yesterday evening. Lots of shit happened, basically”

Ibuki almost jumped out of her boots. “Have you moved out?” she cried. “You should’ve told _me_ first! I could’ve helped!”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t moved out,” Hajime winced at a loud voice. He pondered for a moment, choosing his words before he continued talking. “We’re kind of roommates now. He’s taking the room I don’t use.”

It didn’t help the situation. On the contrary, his words had even more effect on already excited Ibuki. “You’re _sharing a flat_ with somebody? How come? I thought you were always _a little distant_ for things like that.”

“It couldn’t be helped,” he paused for a second, having sudden flashbacks from the past evening. “If it were up to me, he wouldn’t have set a foot in there.”

Ibuki gave him a wide smile, and a concerned expression on her face quickly shifted to the expression of total amusement. It gave Hajime the chills. “It’s a guy, right?” she wasn’t really asking, just repeating the actual fact for him. “And how do you like him? Is he handsome?”

“ _What_?” Hajime felt his eye starting to twitch. Ashamed, he shook his head vigorously. “I don’t know! You shouldn’t ask men such things about other men!”

Ibuki scoffed. “I’ll take it as a yes then.”

“No, you won’t!” Hajime realized he raised his voice too only when another flash of pain shot through his head. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. “Listen, _I’m not in a mood_ for joking. If you’re looking for a match, go and look at him yourself. I’ll gladly give him to you, just take him away from me.”

“Okay-okay, I’m sorry!” Ibuki raised her hands, once again giving an apologetical smile. “You was just funny to mess about,”she paused and then continued more seriously. “But is he that bad? I know that it’s hard for you to bond with people, but you could give that person a chance… No harm in trying, you know. I’m telling you this not to mock you, I simply care about you.”

“Thanks for your concern,” Hajime gave her the nod. “But I don’t really think we’ll get along well,” he collapsed into the chair, feeling a bit dizzy. The conversation started to wear him out. “I’d much preferred to keep distance, since the flat allows it. The problem is that _he_ won’t allow me to have my space, I’m afraid.”

“Is that guy so sticky?” Ibuki raised an eyebrow. “ _Or_ is it you being picky?”

Hajime frowned. “Of course the problem _is not_ in me,” he said defensively. “Well, probably the deal is in both of us, but it’s mostly him. As if he doesn’t even know what personal boundaries are. Damn annoying.”

“Well, he hasn’t done anything bad yet,” Ibuki shrugged. “So, I still think you should give it a try. What if he’s just sociable? There’s nothing bad at it. Probably, it might even _do you some good_.”

“No way!” Hajime choked on his own words. At this point he was regretting about bringing that topic up. “I don’t give a shit about him being “ _sociable_ ”, I just want to live in silence and peace.”

Ibuki sighed, rubbing the back of her head. “You two are just complete opposites, as it seems to me. Of course, I don’t know him personally, but I _do know_ you,” she leaned on the table and gave him an empathetic look. “So, I kind of understand what is going on with you, guys. You’re experiencing a _settling-in period_.”

“Please, don’t put it like that,” Hajime raised both of his hands, as if trying to guard against those words. “You’re a music teacher, _not a psycologist_ … I don’t want to have anything in common with him. We’re just forced to kive together. At least, _I am_ forced.”

“They say, if life gives you lemons…”

“Then you end up squeezing them into your face.”

Ibuki grimaced, walking up to him and squatting down so that their eyes were at the same heigh. “Hinata, be positive!” she said, looking him at the face. “I’m sure things aren’t that bad. You just need to be more open sometimes.”

Hajime sat there, biting his lips and watching Ibuki with a heavy stare. He couldn’t say how much he _hated it_ when people were saying things like that to him. In any other case, he would’ve just said whoever it was to _fuck off and mind their own business_. But he didn’t want to hurt Ibuki, so the only option was to leave it without a response at all. 

“Anyways!” Ibuki seemed to notice that mood swing and quickly corrected herself. “Let’s meet during the lunchtime! I’ll try to think of some solution for you,” she held her hand out, giving him a wide smile. “Deal?”

Hajime shook her hand, still trying to cool down. “Let’s meet at the dining hall then,” he glanced at the wristwatch and stood up. It was only a couple of minutes left before the bell. “Also, don’t come to my classroom, I have _something_ to deal with back there.”

“As you wish,” Ibuki straightened as well and saluted him jokingly.

Although her intentions were nothing but good, the conversation left a lingering taste. And to Hajime’s surprise, not because it was about Komaeda. Without even knowing it, Ibuki somehow managed to refer to his touchy subject and it stirred up some of _bad memories_ he tried to bury inside of him. It was so irritating. Hajime sighed heavily, heading to the classroom in a quick march. He wondered if everything was alright back there. _What if Komaeda couldn’t unlock the door? What if he went to the wrong classroom?_ A hundreds of questions began suddenly haunting his mind, but Hajime brushed them aside with sheer willpower and just hoped the blonde didn’t put on a circus.

Contrary to his doubts, things seemed to be more or less fine when Hajime arrived at the classroom. He managed to get there in a few seconds right before the bell rang, and it was noisy as usual. Students were chatting loudly, scattered around the room in small gaggles, some of them copying homework, some of them just leisurely waiting for the class to start. Hajime walked in the classroom, and the murmur subsided as students began to go back to their seats. Komaeda was nowhere to be seen.

“Good morning, class,” Hajime put his belongings on the table and formally greeted the students, telling them to sit down. When he was done with the head count, he got up from his seat. “We’re going to correct your hometask first, so I’ll give you five minutes to get prepared, starting now.”

Making sure all of the students did as they were said, Hajime finally decided to look into the back room to check it for Komaeda’s presense. The blonde was really there, dusting the shelves quietly. He flinched at the sound of door opening and stood still, apparentely waiting for the person to reveal themselves.

“It’s me,” Hajime closed the door and leaned on it, crossing his hands on the chest. “What are you doing?”

Nagito’s face lightened up once he heard a familiar voice, and he turned to him, a shaky smile on his lips. “Oh, mister Hinata! I was just thinking about you,” he pulled the keys out of his pocket, stretching his arm out. “Here, I’m giving it back! Thank you for trusting me.”

Hajime didn’t move an inch, watching the blonde’s expression change to a confused one after some seconds of silence. He bit his lip, lowering his arm slowly. “I… um… I guess you have to return to your pupils, mister Hinata,” he said quietly, reaching out to the one of the lower shelves and putting the keys there. “I j-just leave it righ here, you just p-pick up anytime you want… S-sorry, I shouldn’t be holding y-you up like this.”

Hajime waited for another couple of seconds and spoke up. “ _Komaeda_ , let’s make some things clear, okay?” He tried hard to choose his words, although it was a real challenge. “While we’re at work, at least try not to _bother me_ if it isn’t something important. _Don’t ask_ me what you should do. _Don’t pop up_ during the class. Just _don’t do_ it unless I ask you to. I’ll try to think of something you can do, but until I didn’t, just try to occupy yourself somehow. Do you understand?”

Nagito listened to him and then nodded solemnly. “I do, m-mister Hinata! I think I got you…” he embrased himself, looking a bit flustered. “I apologize if I was b-bugging you, it won’t happen again… It’s so nice of you to explain things to me…”

“Good,” Hajime cut him off before the blonde could say something else. “I do hope you really understood me.”

As soon as he walked out of the back room, the students straightened and fell silent. Hajime couldn’t say for sure either they hated or feared him. Probably, it was both. It wasn’t surprising at all, given the fact he didn’t really like his job. It just so happened that he was good at chemistry and was not good at choosing a proper life’s path. At first, he thought it’d be fine with him but the more time was passing by, the more he was realizing that working with people was not exactly for him.

Hajime was never the type of teacher that was loved by students for being all cool and understanding and talkative. He simply taught his subject and was good at it, although even his colleagues often told him not to be so strict which he didn’t really understand. Hajime didn’t consider himself _strict_. More like demanding and _maybe_ hard to deal with.

The pain was still pulsing somewhere deep inside his head. Sighing, Hajime sat at his desk and tried to concentrate on the class. If he couldn’t do his work properly, he couldn’t do anything then.

Sometimes he wanted just to drop everything and go far away from here. Not like he didn’t want to live here, it was just _something_ constantly making him think of going somewhere else. For the first couple of years that was the worst, but it all settled down with the time. He felt more or less fine living in that town, but apparently all good things must end. With the arrival of that Komaeda guy, Hajime once again started to have those strange thoughts. But maybe he never stopped, to begin with. It was complicated.

“Alright, class,” he glanced at the wristwatch and stood up. “Time’s up. First of all, let’s go through the types of chemical reactions. Anybody wants to try answering?”

The rest of the first class went as usual. Moreover, the whole second class went as usual, to Hajime’s surprise. Komaeda didn’t even come out of the back room during the break, and Hajime, consumed by work, almost forgot about his supposed assistant. Although nobody was trying to distract him anymore, it felt satisfactory and strange at the same time. Personally, Hajime wouldn’t mind the blonde to sit in there all day long but still realized that it’d be a bit too harsh to make him actually do so. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to ignore the fact of Komaeda’s existence, it was not possible at all. That guy definitely wasn’t going to disappear just by Hajime’s sheer willpower. Which was a pity.

Anyways, Hajime was still going to reward him for the effort, because he was sure for Nagito it was almost impossible to spend a several hours without bugging anyone. So, that was really no small feat for him. At least, that was what Hajime had in mind before the bell rang.

“ _Mister Hinata_ , may I ask?” Hajime heard a certain voice behind his back and turned around slowly. Scratch that. That guy is unfixable. Meanwhile, Nagito half leaning out of the back room door continued, without giving him the time to answer. “I’ve cleaned up everything here _twice_ , and I can’t anymore... May I at least sit quietly somewhere in the back of the classroom? I promise I’ll be silent.”

Hajime blinked. “The hell did you just say?” he mumbled under his breath. “Sit in the classroom?”

Clinging on the doorway, Nagito was waiting for the response patiently. His eyes were aimlessly directed straight ahead but their expression remained blank as ever. Hajime might even feel bad for him if it wasn’t for the sudden idea that shot through his head. He leaned down, opening one of the drawers and taking a laptop out of there.

“Actually, you there’s something can do for me,” he said, placing it on the teacher’s desk and turning it on. Hajime would never allow the blonde to sit in class because he knew that guy just _couldn’t stay still_. But somehow his words sparked a thought in Hajime’s mind. _That was it_. The most painless way for both of them to make it to the end of the day. He had various presentations on the classes saved on that laptop, so it was meant to kill two birds with one stone, namely to teach a class and to keep Komaeda more or less busy.

“Mister Hinata, what is it? I’m ready to do whatever you want, you just tell.”

Ingoring his last sentence, Hajime patted on the chair seat, calling out. “Come over here and sit down.”

Without any hesitation, Nagito walked towards his voice and sat on the edge of the chair, placing both hands on his knees. “Is t-that it, mister Hinata?” he asked cautiously. “What should I do next?”

Hajime glanced at the blonde above the laptop and leaned over it again, trying to memorize the lesson and find the right file. “Fine, now listen closely,” he turned the laptop to the blonde and moved a computer mouse over to him. “I’m going to give a presentation and you’re going to help me with it. All you have to do is just to change the slides when I say “next”. Nothing more than that. Come on, place your hand on the mouse.” Hajime waited for Nagito to find it, groping the table surface with slightly trembling fingers. Hesitantly, he squeezed it as if was afraid to break. Hajime nodded. “Good. Now wait, I’ll set the things up.”

He rummaged through the drawers once again, finding a remote for the projector placed up on the ceiling. He pressed on the power button and it turned on with a soft noise, starting to project a laptop screen on a whiteboard. “Okay, so now let’s try. Click the left mouse button.” Hajime supervised the process, while the blonde wasn’t quite getting what he was doing but still happy he could be of use. “Again. Next. Fine, that’ll do.”

Students started giving strange looks in their direction, and Hajime could feel eyes on his back. It was understandable though, he’d probably thought the same if he happened to witness something like that. But it didn’t change the fact that such prying always got the best of him.

Sensing his sudden disarray, Nagito gave a shaky smile. “Am I doing it right?”

It was a dumb thing to ask, but it made Hajime get back to reality from his thoughts. “It’s hard to fail such thing.” He straightened, crossing arms on the chest. “Now, repeat what I have said earlier about what you should do. I wanna hear it from you.”

Nagito nodded eagerly and quickly replied, “I’m helping you to give a presentation and I have to change the slides when you say next.”

At that point, the bell rang. Hajime sighed; at least they managed to sort the things out.

“Good. Be ready, class has started.”

“Don’t worry, mister Hinata! I’ll do my best.”

Hajime started teaching a class, trying hard to detach himself from _his assistanse’s_ presence. He didn’t know why but felf as if he would catch a glimpse of him, he wouldn’t be able to focus on explaining the material which was more relevant for the moment. As a consequence, Hajime started walking in circles around the classroom, which was not very characteric of him as he preferred to sit or just stand still during the class. But now Komaeda was occupying his seat and Hajime didn’t even come close to the teacher’s desk, glancing at the whiteboard from time to time just to command the blonde to go on.

Time was going as slowly as it was possible, so Hajime was secretly glad when the hand of the wall clock began nearing the lunchtime. It was a relief, even though the class went not bad at all.

“Alright, class,” Hajime stopped at a window and pointed to the whiteboard. “Here you see three exersices on today’s topic. You have ten minutes to do it. Any questions?”

One of the girls raised her hand immediately upon hearing the task. “Can’t we do it at home, sir? The class will end in ten minutes.”

Hajime was already used to such objections and treated all of them relentlessly. “No, you have plenty of time to do it if you won’t waste your time on talking. Any questions _on the material_? Good, clock starts now.”

Finally, there was a moment of silence. Hajime let himself to ease up a little and took a quick glance at the blonde. Nagito was sitting in the same position, with his back a bit too straight and his hand still squeezing a mouse a bit too tight. His facial expression was strangely blank and emotionless, eyes relaxed and vacant. Drawn by a rather unusual sight, Hajime let his eyes linger on that face a little more than he actually should have. It was strange to watch the blonde bite his lips and lick them after it, so that those lips were the only bright spot on his white face. Suddenly, the memory of their yesterday’s fall bubbled up in his head. Suddenly, the thought of those _blonde eyelashes_ made his heart skip a beat. _Why the hell did he remember it after all?.._

Probably, he was staring at Komaeda for too long. Hajime shook his head and focused on the wristwatch instead, secretly glad that the blonde was physically unable to notice his attention. “Time’s up,” Hajime cleared his throat and walked up to the teacher’s desk. “Please sign your papers and hand them over to mister Komaeda when you’ll be leaving.”

Nagito flinched upon hearing his surname and almost jumped to his feet, face lightening up in a soft smile.“O-okay, guys!” he stopped beside the desk. “Don’t forget to sign your notes properly, so that mister Hinata can focus on your works!”

When the bell rang, the students raised from their seats and quickly surrounded Komaeda on all sides. He was standing there with his hands out, and soon there was a fine stack of papers resting on his palms.

Hajime watched it all from a distance when somebody called out for him. “Mister Hinata, could you please explain something to me real quick?”

He turned around to see a girl, squeezing a chemistry textbook in her hands. “Yes, what’s that?”

“Here, it’s about our previous hometask…”

It made Hajime let his guard for a couple of minutes while he was busy looking at the mixed scribbles of chemical equations. However, when he heard a sudden burst of laugher from behind, he immediately regretted letting Komaeda out of his sight even for that little while. Hajime turned back swiftly to see a bunch of students giggling, while the kid from yesterday – the one who tripped Komaeda - was now doing something with his hands from behing Nagito’s back. Meanwhile, the blonde was standing there still, probably without even knowing that somebody was making a fool of him. It made Hajime almost see red.

“Hanamura, what are you doing there?” he snapped, slamming his hand against a table and making almost all of the students in the room flinch.The boy met the teacher’s strict gaze and quickly hid his hands. “Mister Komaeda can’t see _either of you_ , so just leave your paper and go.”

It seemed like those words caused confusion among the students. _Right_. Hajime mentally slapped himself on the forehead. He didn’t even bother telling about Komaeda’s peculiarity to the class.

“Why is that so?” somebody voiced a general indiscreet question. Hajime struggled to come up with the proper answer, but it was Nagito who decided to handle that.

“I’m flattered that you guys didn’t notice but I’m blind,” he said, giving the softest smile possible. “I was lucky enough to find this job, so please be nice to me, okay?”

For a moment, the students remained silent, processing the new information. Hajime glanced at the blonde to see if there was everything alright. He began regretting his own hasty words. Despite all the smiling, Nagito’s face expressed general worry. It began to show more and more when the students burst out asking him multiple questions, talking all at once. He made a few steps back, pressing the papers to his chest, a shaky smile on his bitten lips.

“Silence!” Hajime once again slammed the table, feeling his hand going numb with the impact. “First of all, it’s _not_ _polite_ , just look at yourselves! Second, the class is over and you have to go.”

Disappointed by such turn of events, the rest of the students quickly left the classroom, chattering loudly about the whole deal. Hajime sighed heavily, feeling another wave of pain striking through his temples.

Now that they were alone in the empty classroom, nobody dared to speak up for some reason. Hajime turned away, feeling his face heating up with some sort of shame. It seems like he fucked up this time. Probably, he didn’t really have to say that thing aloud, seeing how confusing it turned out for Nagito. Not that he cared about his feelings. It was just… Something just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t contain himself and there were consequences. Just like always. _Maybe he should apologize?.. Or…_

“Umm… Mister Hinata?..” Komaeda called out hesitantly. “I think… I’ll g-go put the papers in the b-back room...”

Hajime turned to face him, mixed feelings stirring up his chest. “Komaeda, listen.” He took a pile of papers from the blonde’s hands and put it on the table. “What I have said… About what happened…” He swalloved a lump in the throat. Making apologies never was his strong point.

A few seconds passed before Hajime could finally get his shit together. All that time Nagito kept quiet, fidgeting nervously with his white lab coat. Hajime cleared his throat. “Probably, it was not the right thing to say in front of everyone and I had to consider discussing it with you personally, so I-“

Hajime choked on his own words, when he finally looked up and saw a certain change in Nagito’s hairstyle. “ _What the hell_?..” The blonde made a step back, almost backing the wall. “ _Stop right there_.”

Nagito’s face filled with silent panic and he weakily put his hands in front of himself, as if trying to maintain a distance. “W-what’s it? Did I d-do something _wrong_?”

It almost made Hinata forget about the previous embarrassment. He walked up to Komaeda, intending to confirm or deny his worst assumption. “Stand still. You have something in your hair…” Hajime cautiously reached out and took a long lock of his blonde hair from behind his right ear. There was some thick substance stuck all over the right side of his long hair. “ _Shit_! That little bastard!”

“W-what are you talking about?” Nagito flinched at the snap and pulled his head away in a weak attempt to break free. “I d-don’t quite get it…”

“That Hanamura brat stuck a gum on your hair. Didn’t you fucking feel it?” Hajime threw this lock of hair back and took one good deep breath. That was just insane and his brain almost refused to process it. _Why did all of this have to happen?.._

Nagito run his hand through his own hair and winced when he felt the smeared gum stuck solid all over it. He tried to peel if off with his fingers but it only made more hair get into that sticky trap.

“For fuck’s sake, don’t touch it!” Hajime instinctively grabbed him by the wrist and pushed to the teacher’s desk, making Komaeda sit up there. He sighed heavily, dropping Komaeda’s loose arm to his knees. “I’m gonna give him _hell_ next time he shows up.”

“D-don’t be so hard on him, mister Hinata…” Nagito took himself by the shoulders, looking more distressed than ever. “I c-can just c-cut it out, I s-suppose…”

Hajime took another look at the mess and clicked his tongue. “Man, it stuck really bad.” He pondered for a moment. “Wait right here, I’m gonna go get the scissors.”

He quickly rummaged through the shelves in the back room and was lucky enough to find a pair of scissors. When he returned, Komaeda was still sitting on the table, slightly dangling his feet. His face showed the absolute acceptance of his fate.

“Just sit still and don’t move.” Hajime walked up to him and stood in front of him, leaning in and preparing himself mentally. “I’ll try to cut it out with minimal damage.”

Hajime put the scissors away and instead carefully took Nagito’s head in his hands, making him tilt it to his left shoulder in order to have a better look at the site. He run his fingers through the blonde hair, noticing subconsciously how soft it was. The gum was stuck right in the middle of its length, so it seemed hard to remove it unnoticed. Hajime sighed and took the scissors once again, trying to keep his hands from trembling. To begin with, he never wanted to become a hairdresser and didn’t really have any related skills, except for cutting his own hair. However, cutting _someone else’s_ hair was not the same at all. Despite his entire attitude towards the blonde, Hajime definitely didn’t want to give him a bald spot.

Bit by bit, Hajime cautiously was cutting throught his hair, removing the sticky gum. He couldn’t believe it was actually happening. _It was ridiculous. It was absurd._

It was so strange to be so close, that Hajime could smell Komaeda’s scent. He tried to hold his breath and fight it because Nagito smelled like peppermint and something… sweet _. What could it be? Vanilla? Caramel?_ No, scratch that. Hajime stopped for a moment, trying hard to stop thinking about it. What was his deal anyway? So what if Nagito smelled strangely nice. It wouldn’t make Hajime like him more. _Probably_.

“Mister Hinata?.. Y-you’re p-pulling my hair…” Nagito’s voice made Hajime return to the reality. He shook his head, brushing all those inappropriate thoughts aside.

“Sorry,” he said, carefully working the scissors. “Almost done.”

Hajime cut the last piece of hair and finally removed the gum together with some of the long blonde locks. He winced at the sight and hurried to throw it all into the trashcan. Then he put a few final touches, smoothing the difference between those short strands and trying to adjust Komaeda’s hair. It turned out better than he’d thought, even though far from ideal.

“Guess, that’s it.” Hajime put the scissors away and made a step back, taking a critical look at his own handiwork.

“You really did it, mister Hinata?” Nagito hesitantly touched his hair, running his slender fingers through it. “How does it look?”

Hajime pondered. “Fine?.. I can’t really tell with your head turned away from me. Look at me- No, don’t! I mean… Fuck…” This time he actually slapped himself on the face, feeling extremely stupid and embarrassed.

“That’s okay, I get you,” Nagito gave him a soft smile, trying to turn at his voice. Hajime sighed heavily and came up to the blonde once again. “I believe that you did a good job, so don’t wor-“

Hajime took him by the chin and raised Komaeda’s head carefully, so that they were almost facing each other. “Don’t twist your head, I’m trying to see if anything else’s wrong.”

Nagito swallowed hard and fell silent, almost breathless. Peppermint scent once again reached Hajime’s nose when he leaned in to mess Komaeda’s hair up just a little bit, so that the trimmed locks weren’t showing much. After that, he took some time, running his eyes over all over the blonde. _Probably_ , Hajime was just enjoying the moment of silence. _Probably_ , he was just curious. He couldn’t tell for sure.

For some reason, Hajime suddenly wanted to touch that soft hair _just for once_. His own hair was rather hard and spiky, and Komaeda’s hair felt strangely nice to the touch. Hesitantly, he reached his hand out, hovering over the top of his head. _Probably_ , it wasn’t that bad. _Probably_ , Komaeda wasn’t that bad. _Probably_ …

“Hey, Hina- _whoah!_ ”

They both flinched at the sound. Hajime quickly removed his hand and shifted his gaze to the door, filled with apprehension.

Just as Hajime thought. There she was, standing in the doorway with her mouth open and her face expressing absolute surprise. When she met Hajime’s eyes, she hastily turned away and ran out to the corridor. “I didn’t see anything! Sorry!”

Hajime flew off after her in a desperate attempt to catch the intruder before she could do something stupid. “Mioda, stop right there!” He ran into the hall to see Ibuki standing near the classroom and apparently waiting for him. “ _That’s not what you thought_!”

“Well there, Hinata…” She gave him a wide grin. “So now I know _what_ you had to deal with in your classroom. Or should I say _who_?”


	6. bonding and difficulties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime still tries to sort his feelings out but it turns out to be even more complicated than before. Meanwhile Ibuki and Nagito cooperatively are making it almost impossible for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and I'm back again with a new chapter! let me know what you think about it and please enjoy!

“So, you guys _aren’t_ dating?”

Ibuki crossed her arms and pouted, obviously not satisfied with the explanation.

“No, we aren’t.”

Hajime tried to hold himself together and answered briefly and dryly, just like in interrogation. He was realizing that what they were doing actually might look ambiguously. _Why did he ever do it?_ There was neither an answer, nor a reason.

Ibuki sounded almost disappointed. “And you aren’t even planning on?..”

“For fuck’s sake!! I swear to-“

“I don’t quite get what you mean by _dating_ ,” Nagito quickly cut in, soothing Hinata’s outburst. “But I can assure you, there is purely working relationship between me and mister Hinata.”

“Right…” Hajime put his hand on the forehead with a heavy sigh. That was only making the headache even worse. He turned to Mioda, gesturing. “Why the hell do we even need to explain to you things like that?”

Ibuki shrugged, seemingly not quite convinced. “I’m just saying, it’s not every day that I see you possibly making out on your teacher’s desk…”

“Mioda, _one more word_ and see what happens.”

“Man, just kiddin’!” she held her hands up in front of herself and made a few steps towards Komaeda, glancing at him with obvious interest. “I just didn’t see it coming, you know.”

“Oh, me too!” Nagito echoed cheerfully, dangling his feet in the air. He still sat where Hajime left him, at first too scared to leave and then too comfortable to get off. If it were up to Hinata, he’d gladly lock the blonde up in the back room and shooed Mioda out of here and probably erased her memory.

Ibuki came closer and looked at the blonde from every angle. His statement made her freeze in slight confusion. “Really? Geez, Hinata!”

Nagito chuckled softly and Hajime took a deep breath before answering. Those two met only a few minutes ago and already developed a potential to become a disaster duo. Meanwhile, Ibuki waved her palm right in front of Komaeda’s face. He didn’t react.

“Don’t mind him,” Hajime crossed his arms and sighed. “He’s actually blind.”

Ibuki blinked. “You don’t say!” She quickly removed her hand and instead gently patted him on the shoulder. He flinched at the touch but then loosened up with a small shrug. “Man, I’m sorry! Didn’t mean to mock you, I swear!”

“That’s okay,” Nagito gave her a nice smile, turning to her voice. “I’m really fine with it, so please don’t feel burdened by me... Besides, it was kind of funny.”

“Oh my, Hinata, why did you hide this guy? You should’ve introduced us!” Ibuki now openly examined the blonde, eyes shining with amusement. Hajime knew she was fond of meeting new people but she also was quite a straightforward person, so she just couldn’t hide her excitement if truly interested in someone.

“Stop embarrassing him, first of all,” Hajime headed to the back room to pick the keys up. He guessed that the lunch was no longer on the table, so locking the door up probably would be for the best. If someone else showed up in here, it would turn out to be the last freaking straw. With a sigh, he turned the key in the lock. “Second, we only know each other for a day and a half. It’s not like either of us had the chance to meet up with you.”

Ibuki appeared thoughtful for a moment, and then straightened up, crossing her hands. “It just occurred to me we still don’t know each other’s names! Sorry, I was a little dumbfounded at first. I am Ibuki Mioda, ace music teacher! Your turn.”

“My name’s Nagito,” the blonde chuckled softly. “And now I’m mister Hinata’s assistant. We started working together yesterday, and he’s very helpful and nice to me even though I don’t always do well…”

“You’re cool!” Ibuki patted him on the back, taking a seat next to him. “And I’m also quite surprised by you too, Hinata. Didn’t know that you’d get yourself a helper… But where do you live? Are you new in town? Do you need a tour maybe? Or something like that? Don’t be afraid to ask if so!”

Komaeda flinched at the question and seemed to struggle if he should answer at all. He was lucky enough not to see the glare Hajime was giving him. “Umm… If I may say so… It’ll be better if mister Hinata explained. I just don’t want to say anything wrong…”

Hajime could barely suppress a groan. _Why did he always need to put things like that? Well, he really screwed him here._ “Komaeda, changing the rules!” he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his face heating up for some reason. “Call me by first name. Everywhere. Everytime.”

Ibuki shot him a confused gaze, but the blonde nodded rather enthusiastically. “O-okay, I understand! So… Um… _Hajime_. Could you please explain? Since I’m not so good with words, I guess…”

“ _Oh, fuck_ …” Hajime sighed heavily, getting more and more of strange looks. “The deal is… We’re also roommates.”

Ibuki gasped, her eyes widening with realization. “You mean that he-“ she blurted out but Hinata raised his hand in a warning gesture, making her shut up. She covered her mouth with a palm and remained silent for a few moments before finally coming up with a proper answer. “ _Wow_.”

“Yes,” Hajime summarized concisely.

“It’s q-quite a coincidence, right?” Nagito forced laugh, apparently feeling the athmosphere with his skin.

Hajime sighed, “Yeah, no shit.”

“But that’s so cool!” Suddenly, Ibuki got out of the stupor and clapped her hands in excitement. “You guys are lucky to work and live together! I wish I had somebody like that too, to be honest.”

Nagito started fidgeting with the fabric of his lab coat, his eyes aimlessly looking somewhere at his feet. “Do you live alone?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Ibuki nodded, forgetting that such kind of response was pretty much pointless for one of them. “I asked Mikan to move in with me but she turned me down, and I’m so sad right now… Man, she’s breaking my heart!”

Nagito cautiously reached out and patted her lap, “D-don’t worry, Ibuki!” he tried to comfort her, even thoy sounding a bit off. Somehow, it made some unfamiar feeling stir up Hajime’s chest. What was it? Was it because of the headache too? He shook his head, trying to brush that burning feeling away. “Maybe she’s just shy and doesn’t want to bug you. Probably if you try talking to her, it’ll change her mind.”

Ibuki shrugged, “Thanks, maybe I’ll try once more. But have you already met Mikan? Your description of her is pretty accurate, though.”

Nagito shook his head, “No, I only know Hajime and now you.”

“That’s great!” Ibuki jumped off the table and clapped her hands in excitement. “Listen, guys! I have a great idea!”

Hajime winced. “I don’t feel so good about it, Mioda, but go ahead.”

“We should throw a party for you two! Let’s invite the others too, and so Nagito can make some new friends! And you too could use a break and relax! How do you think?” Ibuki seemed to be absolutely taken by her idea, and her eyes literally were shining with hope while she waited for the response.

A party? Hajime _hated_ parties.

“Negative.”

“Why?” Ibuki whined, sounding extremely disappointed. “You didn’t even give it a try! How about you, Nagito?”

Komaeda lowered his head, a shaky smile on his lips. “If Hajime doesn’t want to, so neither do I... Anyways, I’m not used to parties and stuff like that, so I’ll be boring to talk to…”

“No, you won’t! Hajime, let’s do it! It’s been for ages since we all last gathered together.”

Hajime shook his head. “Probably, but not these weekends. Don’t really fel like it. I was planning on relaxing by myself.”

“Is your migrane acting up again?” Ibuki memorized that thing, but it was not like Hajime wanted her to bring it out. He shot her another warning look and she nodded. “Oh, I get it. We can do it any time, so you can’t get out of it either way!”

“Moreover, I have to sort out a lot of things. By the way, do you still have that car mechanic’s number?” Hajime winced, trying to recall. “You know, the one with pink hair, he really helped me out the other time.”

“You mean, Soda? Of course! Oh, we may invite him over as well! What’s the matter? Did your car break down again?”

“Right, yesterday morning it just wouldn’t start. Don’t really want to look for another car mechanic, since he was quite good at it.”

“Okay, I’ll sent you his number!” Ibuki moved to pull her phone out and then stopped, looking at both of them. “But how did you two get to work? You go together, right?”

Nagito nodded, “Hajime gave us a ride on his bike. It was quite well because I don’t really like buses and stuff…”

“Yeah, I get you! They’re crowded as hell. I remember that Hajime really hates public transport in general, so you’re quite united.”

Hajime sighed, “Ibuki, I said not to tell anything about me, okay?”

“I didn’t say anything bad!” she waved her hands ay him. “Besides, I bet you hardly tell anything about yourself, and that’s not good!”

“I think, it’s no use to make Hajime open up when he doesn’t want to,” Nagito smiled softly, his voice quiet and cautious. “It’s even not polite, so let’s just forget about it, shall we?”

Hajime winced. _Damn that Komaeda guy_. Why was he being so understanding out of a blue? _Damn annoying_. Meanwhile, Ibuki chuckled kindly, not a single bit cross with them cutting her off. It was one of her features that Hajime appreciated most of all. “Okay-okay, I won’t say any more!” She made a gesture as if she zipped up her mouth, looking straight at Hajime. “It’s totally fine if you want to hear it all from Hinata himself! He can be a good chap, just give him some time.”

“Mioda, I believe you was gonna send me the number,” Hajime coughed as a warning. He felt his patience starting to run out for the umpteenth time that day.

Ibuku hurriedly pulled her phone out, and Hajime sighed, enjoying the moment of silence. Well, probably he had to adjust to it somehow since Komaeda didn’t really differ from Mioda. All he needed to do was not to let them be in one room because he simply wouldn’t bear it anymore. It was almost as if they were on their own wavelength, which turned out to be completely different from his own.

“And… Done! Feel free to call him any time ‘cause he’s kinda out of work these days,” Ibuki gave him a wide smile. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to help you with the car problem. But you know, probably it’d be better to start saving up for the new car if you don’t wanna end up having an accident. No offence, man, but you’re gonna spend much more repairing it each time. You can ask Soda, he’ll help you choose a good one.” She pushed her phone back, once again taking a seat next to Komaeda. He slightly motioned away as if didn’t want to be that close. Hajime glanced at his face to see if everything was allright because the blonde was unusually silent for the past few minutes. His face expressed… pretty much nothing, just like a blank sheet of paper.

“Thanks for the advice,” Hajime felt his own phone buzzing silently in his pocket but didn’t pay any attention to it, staring at Nagito instead. Was he… okay?

Komaeda seemed completely out of it, and that sudden change tipped Hajime off. He didn’t know but for some reason felt that he should at least do something about it. Reluctantly, he came up to the teacher’s desk where the blonde was sitting sullenly, biting his lips hard. What was up all of a sudden?

“We wanted to go for a lunch together, huh?” Hajime said a bit out of turn, hesitantly reaching out to Nagito’s head. “But, you know, Komaeda got… a gum stuck in his hair and we had to do something about it,” at last he overcame himself and gave Nagito a small pat on his head in an attempt of shaking him of of that strange state. _So soft_. It seemed to bring the blonde back to reality as if he suddenly jerked his head up, shuddering all over.

Ibuki, who was watching them silently the entire time, replied as if keeping the conversation. “Really? It’s pretty hard to get a gum outta hair!” She seemed to understand what happened and continued talking, “Especially when it happens with hair like yours, Nagito. What have he done to you? I hope Hajime didn’t pull your hair out, ‘cause, you know, he might.”

Komaeda swallowed hard and once again lowered his head. “Umm… Hajime helped me out and actually he c-cut it out,” at first his reply sounded a bit off but then he got back completely and smiled again. At this point Hajime was really thankful to Ibuki. Unlike him, she could easily read the atmosphere and sure could understand other people’s feelings much better than he did. “I believe it was the same moment you walked on us.”

“Yeah, you guys almost made me lose my shit!” Ibuki laughed and it seemed to lighten the mood.

There was another buzz of his phone, and Hajime frowned at that sound. He didn’t have much people to text him and if it wasn’t Ibuki, then Chiaki was the only one left. But this time he had a bad feeling about it. He pulled the phone out and his heart skipped a beat at the message.

**> >>unknown**: did u forget about us hajime?

Hinata swallowed hard, feeling cold sweat on his forehead. No. Not again. He slowly pushed the phone back into the pocket.

“What’s it?” Ibuki gave him a confused look.

“Nothing,” he shook his head. “It’s just-“

At that very moment, the ring of the bell fortunately rescued him. “…lunchtime’s over, so we have to go back to work,” he continued, walking up to the door and unlocking it. As soon as the door opened, a stream of students filled the classroom.

“Man, I didn’t even notice how much time’s passed!” Ibuki got up and once again patted Nagito’s shoulder. “It’s was cool to talk to you! See you both later!”

“Goodbye…”

“Bye, Mioda.”

Before finally leaving the class, Ibuki winked at Hajime, a wide smile on her lips. He couldn’t help but sigh.

The rest of their working day went more or less in the same vein, with Hajime roaming around the classroom while trying to concentrate on the lesson and Nagito sitting at the teacher’s desk and trying his best to be useful. However, they didn’t talk to each other anymore during the breaks. Hajime didn’t know about the blonde but he personally felt weird because of all of the things going on. Once again, it was too much. It was wrong to start bonding with another person so soon. He couldn’t allow it, no way. Getting too attached to someone was a bad, very bad idea and he shouldn’t even think about it. Even though he might, he couldn’t allow himself such a foolish and ridiculous act.

Yes, he was extremely lonely for the past ten years. _So what?_

Another thing was that strange message. Hajime never considered himself to be paranoiac but those slimy thoughts had already started creeping out of the corner of his mind. It happened before. He used to get those messages once or twice a year, every year but didn’t react to them. Even if he did reply, it would mean nothing good for him. Nothing good. Nothing. So he just pushed all of his concerns away and hoped that it would end at only a few more messages, just like it happened a lot of times in the past. _It all started at a very wrong timing._

It all was so wrong. So bad and wrong. Wrong and bad. _Wrong and wrong and wrong and…_

“Hajime?” A familiar raspy voice made him flinch and stop staring at the screen of his phone. “Umm… Y-you here?”

Hajime swallowed hard and finally deleted the message, shoving the phone into his back pocket.

“Yes, I’m right here,” he turned to see Komaeda who raised his head to the voice. Hajime sighed, once again meeting eyes with those blank and watery ones. Probably, he started to get used to it. Was it so bad? “Classes are over. It’s time to go home.”

Nagito got up and hurriedly began tidying the table up, closing the laptop and gathering papers the students left after the last class. Nervousness was clearly visible in all of his quick and inaccurate movements. “Y-yeah, Hajime, y-you go on, and I’ll clean the room up.”

“You wanna go home alone?” Hajime walked up to the blonde and picked up a pile of papers he was struggling to bring together. Nagito pulled his hand away and pressed it to his chest, as if was afraid for them to touch accidentally.

“N-no, I d-don’t want to…” he shook his head. “I just… have to do at least something t-to be of use.”

Hajime sighed at those words. “You will be of use if you don’t cause me any more trouble, Komaeda,” he responded, trying to choose a correct wording. “Since we have to coexist, it will be better if neither of us is worried about the each other’s whereabouts. Okay?”

Nagito fell all silent foe a second, which was already a reason for concern because what was happening in his brain still was a mystery.

“It means, you’ll be worried about me if I go alone?”

It was then Hajime’s turn to render speechless. Did he ever mean it? Really? Him? Worried about someone he knew for a couple of days? This was ridiculous.

He cleared his throat. “Don’t get me wrong, Komaeda”, he said, fidgeting with the papers in his hands. “I just don’t want to look for you all around the town in case you get lost. That’s why I want us to go together, at least until you get yourself familiarized with the place. Have I made myself clear?”

Nagito nodded silently.

“Very good then,” Hajime finally put the papers into his bag and took the laptop to put it back into the desk drawer. “Go and get your things, and bring me the rest of the papers please. I’ll take care of the classroom.”

“O-okay, Hajime,” the blonde quickly retreated to the back room. “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as the door closed behind Komaeda’s back, Hajime crashed at the chair and sighed, putting a hand to his burning forehead. Why nothing was simple with that guy? It was a pretty odd though to cross his mind but Hajime felt like Nagito was as complicated as he himself was. Of course, they were way too different, but something in him made Hinata feel that way. It didn’t make the things any easier, though.

Komaeda returned quickly, just as promised, and Hajime got up from his seat, taking a pile of papers from his hands. “Thanks,” he said, pushing it into the bag with stiff fingers.

“You’re welcome… Hajime,” the blonde changed back into his green coat and quickly hid his hands in the pockets. “Should we get going?”

“I have to bring some stuff back to the teacher’s lounge, so you can go ahead and wait for me outside,” Hajime grabbed the register and some other papers and headed towards the exit. “Can you make it back to the parking? It’s not that far.”

Nagito nodded vigorously, “O-of course, I can. D-don’t worry, I’ll be waiting right there, so you go do your things.”

“Good.”

They walked out of the classroom, and the blonde was already gone by the time Hajime turned the key in the lock and turned to his side. He could only catch a glimple of fair hair disappearing down the stairs at the far end of the corridor. He huffed. _What a weirdo._

However, Hajime didn’t want to linger in here longer than he had to. So, he quickly made his way to the teacher’s lounge, said a few short farewells to some other colleagues, whom he didn’t even remembered by names, and hurried to leave. He might drop in on Ibuki but felt like he reached his socialization limit for the day. All he wanted was to return home and sleep. He was tired of that headache and all of the talking.

Hajime went out of school, peeking at the sides on the go. He knew he said Komaeda go and wait for him on the parking lot but then he slowly realized that it wasn’t his best idea as the blonde was nowhere to be seen. _Man, it was truly a stupid move to let him wander around all alone._ Hajime sighed, nervously adjusting his bag on the shoulder and stopped in the middle of the parking, scanning the surroundings for at least the slightest sign of Komaeda. Nothing. Nowhere. He squinted in a futile attempt to make his rather poor vision a bit sharper. Still no result.

“ _Fuck him…”_ he whispered, irritated. _What if that guy just went home on his own?.._ Hajime remembered him mentioning his good orientation skills but highly doubted that a completely blind man could find the way he never went before. Even if it was so, it couldn't be so because his cane was left untouched in the bicycle basket. The parking lot wasn't that big, so Hajime considered looking for the blonde somewhere outside, namely behind the fence. Even though there were always some people smoking and going there was not the best option for Komaeda, he still could walk over there by mistake.

Still glancing around, Hinata headed to the gates. He felt extremely dumb and for some stupid reason anxious, and guilty, and embarrassed, and it all thanks to that stupid guy. Was it too hard not to cause troubles just for a little while? It all was only making his headache even worse. He winced and rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the pain pulsing vigorously inside of his skull. He was definitely going to give him hell once he found him.

Hajime turned around the corner of the fence, and cigarette smoke got into his nose, making him freshen the air with a hand. There weren't much people hanging around except for the group of four young men gathered at the far end. It looked like they were having an argument with some other person, judging by what Hajime could hear. All of them wore high school uniform, so he decided to interfere in case it was something more or less serious.

Hajime quickly came up to the group, calling out, “Hey! Students are not allowed to go in here, d'you know?”

The boys simultaneously turned to his voice, and then Hajime could get a glimpse of the fifth person. It was none other than Komaeda sitting on the ground with his knees brought to the chest and his hands covering his head. There was a big pause between them all, during which thousand of thoughts raced through his mind, a mix of anger, bewilderment and fright. Even though it lasted not longer than for a split second, it felt like hours.

“Stop right there!” Hajime rushed in, reducing the distance, and at the same time the culprits scattered away from the crime scene. However, he managed to catch one of them by the hand and pulled him back. “The hell are you bastards doing?”

“Let me go!” the boy tried to break free but Hajime’s grip was too tight.

“Which grade?” he snapped at him, struggling with a strong desire to grab him by the collar and give a good dressing down. But he didn’t want to lose his job and had to hold back. “You do understand that it’s going to have consequences? Who’s your teacher?”

“It hurts! Let me go!”

“Answer!” Hajime pulled him. “Your teacher!”

“Mister Naegi!” The student whined, and it was enough to overwhelm Hajime. Shocked, he loosened his grip for a second but the boy took this opportunity and ran away, stepping hard on Hinata’s foot.

“Fuck!” he cursed, watching the culprit hurriedly running away. He could’ve chased him but didn’t want to waste time on it. These students weren’t even from his school. He hadn’t seen Makoto Naegi… for a while. Probably it wouldn’t be the right thing to complain to him about his ill-mannered students but he was going to know anyway, since Naegi was a very diligent headmaster. Well… Shit.

Hajime sighed heavily, making a note in his mind to deal with it later. What was more important…

“Hey, Komaeda!” he crouched down beside the blonde, who still hadn’t changed his position and moved an inch. His breathing was unsteady and shaky, and Hajime could clearly hear him sob. He cautiously reached out and took Nagito by the shoulders, pulling him just a little bit closer. “You okay? What in the world has happened?”

Nagito didn’t answer and insead of it suddenly put his arms all around Hajime, embracing him tighly and almost knocking him down. “ _I’m so sorry, so sorry, so sorry, so sorry_ -“ he started babbling confusedly.

“H-hey, calm down,” Hajime swallowed hard, trying his best not to push him back on instinct. He didn’t know what to do in a situation like this and hated dealing with stressed out people but… didn’t really have a choice. He put his hand on Nagito’s back, rubbing it gently. “It’s okay, Komaeda. Come on, let’s talk…”

“ _I’m so sorry, so sorry_ …” Nagito clinged to him, and Hajime could feel the warm breathing on his neck. “ _I’m sorry, don’t be mad at me… I’m sorry…”_

“It’s okay, I’m not mat at you,” Hajime tried to pull him away but Nagito clearly didn’t want to let him go. “It’s okay. Just… calm down, really.”

Hajime bit his lower lip. He didn’t know what to do and how to bring the blonde back to reality because Nagito seemed to go into a trance, repeating the same phrases over and over again. It was… very familiar. And it weren’t Hinata’s best memories. He decided to wait for a little longer and sighed, finally giving the blonde a cautious hug. _Whatever_. It couldn’t be helped either way.

“It’s allright.”

For some stupid reason, Komaeda’s tight embrace felt… nice. And the same peppermint scent was… nice. Hajime hadn’t felt the warmth of the other person’s body for years and years. Even if it wasn’t a proper hug but for some stupid reason it felt… strangely good.

“It’s okay.”

 _Was it really okay?_ Hajime didn’t know how much time had passed until Nagito pulled himself away from him and wiped his flushed face with a sleeve. He had to let him go, even though a bit reluctantly.

“S-sorry about t-that…” he said silently, lowering his head. “I just… got… nervous and… I d-don’t know…”

“I understand,” Hajime sighed, looking away. He took him by the shoulders and helped them both to stand up. “Now can you tell me what happened?”

Nagito sniffed, “I w-went to the parking and… bumped into somebody… and… and I t-tried to apologize b-but…”

“Okay, I see. Those brats probably thought that you’re a student too and wanted to mess with you.”

“D-do I look like?” Nagito gave him a weak smile, but Hajime took it rather seriously.

He ran his eyes all over Komaeda’s figure. “Kind of,” he replied. “You don’t really look like a teacher or assistant. You’re just too-”

 _Tiny? Helpless? Unprotected?_ He quickly stopped himself. It was ridiculous even to think about.

“Oh… I don’t even remember what I look like,” Nagito said this almost under his breath but it made the chills ran down Hinata’s back. Now that felt uncomfortable. He didn’t want to continue that conversation.

“Let’s go home, shall we?” Hajime waited for the blonde to nod in reply and took him by the hand, leading him back to their transport.

Way home was calm and quiet. Hajime was riding the bike while Komaeda tightened himself against his back and so that he could feel cold hands pressed against his stomach. He didn’t fight it. Strange things were happening all day long, so it was definitely not the worst of them all. So what if they were that close? _It didn’t mean a thing._ Probably. So what if he was that close to somebody for the first time during those ten years? _It didn’t mean a thing_. Just a coincidence. Unfortunate turn of events. A mere accident. Nothing. Nothing at all. Right, it meant nothing to him. He had to do it. He didn’t want it. Just had to. _Nothing more._

Once they were back at the apartment, Nagito excused himself to his room.

“I got so tired,” he said. “I’ll go and get some sleep. I-is it okay?”

Hajime shrugged. “Sure.”

As soon as the blonde disappeared into the bedroom, he went to the living room and crashed on a sofa with an exhausted sigh.

“So, that’s it…” he said to himself. “Things aren’t the same anymore. Get your shit together.”

Hajime closed his eyes and suddenly felt his stomach growling from hunger. Right, they had to skip lunch because of that stupid misunderstanding. But they hadn’t any food left in the fridge. Not just in the fridge. Anywhere in the flat. He used to postpone going out to buy food for as long as it was possible while living alone. But now there were two of them and he didn’t look like a beggar in Komaeda’s eyes. Moreover, it wouldn’t be good for him if the blonde died from hunger in his own flat. Therefore, it all was coming down to one thing.

Probably, fresh air what was he needed at that time. He got up from the sofa and went to the hall. Right. Fresh air. Hajime took his coat from the hanger and stopped, looking back to the Komaeda’s closed door. He didn’t want to drag him along but was a bit afraid that Nagito would tag along himself. But it also was a stupid idea to leave without even telling.

So, he causiously knocked at the door and listened for a couple of seconds. There was no response.

“Komaeda,” he called out to the other side of the door. “I’m going shopping. You need anything?”

Still no response. Well, Hajime didn’t want to invade his personal space, so he concluded that he did all in his power. Probably, Nagito was asleep for real in there.

It was beginning to get dark outside. Hajime put his coat on because it was windy and rather cold in the evening. He slowly walked the streets, trying to get the things in the right order inside of his mind. It didn’t get him anywhere but he felt a bit more relieved for some reason. Probably it wasn’t that bad.

He managed to make it to the end of the day, so things weren’t that bad, after all.


End file.
